Terraces 19-20 | Truro School Magazine

MAGAZINE 2019/20

NURSERY | PREP | SENIOR | SIXTH FORM

TERRACES TRURO SCHOOL

Esse Quam Videri 1

TERRACES 2019-20

Foreword HEADMASTER

It would be all too easy to allow this year to be totally defined by the global pandemic. It’s fair to say that our plans for the summer term were well and truly scuppered, and especially for the Upper Sixth leavers for whom this final term was always going to include the rights of passage that are woven into school tradition. As exams for 5th Years and Upper Sixth were scrapped, new and enriching programmes were put together, and remote learning was introduced for the remainder of the year.

“As exams for 5th Years and Upper Sixth were scrapped, new and enriching programmes were put together, and remote learning was introduced...”

Our challenge was to craft a programme that was balanced and sustainable to provide our students with the pace and challenge to continue to make progress, the opportunity to explore new and exciting ways of learning and, crucially, to strike a balance between time spent ‘live learning’ on screen and working independently.

I want to thank my staff, teachers and non-teachers alike, for what you have done and how you have done it. The

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way that you have risen to the challenge during lockdown to master the world of remote teaching and learning with determination, with generosity, with creativity, speaks volumes.

Before the pandemic took hold, the school celebrated a milestone. In January 140 years ago, Truro School opened its doors for the first time as Truro Wesleyan Middle Class College, when 35 boys sat down for lessons. I doubt they imagined that, 140 years later, 1035 girls and boys would be sitting down for lessons at Truro School Senior and Prep. Our 140th birthday party was a wonderful celebration of the school’s history as one of Cornwall’s anchor institutions and of the role that we play in the wider community. The service of thanksgiving and rededication was enriched and enlivened by the return of many Old Truronians who came to share their recollections of school life from as far back as the 1940s. Our students loved hearing these stories as much as they enjoyed the party afterwards, where our Sixth Formers took a lead in planning and organising party games for hundreds of excited teenagers.

Personally, this year was also a significant one, as it marked the end of my time as Headmaster of Truro School. As the summer term grew to a close, I reflected on my time serving the school.

Contents If what drew me to Truro School was the ethos and identity of a school rooted in Christian values, then it seems appropriate that for my closing remarks I look to John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, and the person who we ultimately have to thank for the school’s existence. Wesley was a remarkable man, and far from perfect.

What is clear is that he was totally driven – a biography of his I have read suggests that, over his lifetime, he travelled on horseback and on foot over 250,000 miles across the length and breadth of the UK, preaching a message of love and kindness in over 40,000 sermons. When he was asked why he did this, his answer was quite simple really. He said he wanted people to be happy, to be virtuous, of good moral character; he wanted people to be at ease with themselves and useful to others.

Andrew Gordon-Brown 2013 - 2020 04 140th Anniversary

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AUTUMN TERM Pre-Prep Life 12 Prep Life 16 Senior Life 24 SPRING TERM Pre-Prep Life 36 Prep Life 39 Senior Life 44

If you asked me now, 275 years after these words from Wesley and 140 years since our founding, what the ultimate goal of Truro School is, I could say to deliver the best A- Level results in the county, to be the most successful DoE provider in the South West, to run the busiest and best music department partnering with one of the finest choirs in the UK, to be regularly ranked as one of the leading independent schools for sport, to be known for the Broadway quality of our theatre productions. I could say all these things and they would be true.

But these are all examples of what we do; they don’t go to the heart of why we do it. Why we do it is because, in the words of Wesley, we want our boys and girls to be happy, to be of good moral character, to be at ease with themselves and helpful to others.

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Thank you to our Upper Sixth leavers for being all of those things, thank you to all our staff leavers for contributing to the life of the school, thank you to every member of the Truro School family in its broadest sense for making my time as Headmaster so enjoyable.

Staff Leavers 112 The Final Word 113

SUMMER TERM Pre-Prep Life Prep Life Senior Life

56 58 67

BOARDING Boys 96 Girls 98 SPORT Prep 100 Senior 104

Andrew Gordon-Brown Headmaster

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TERRACES 2019-20

Andrew Gordon-Brown HEADMASTER 2013 - 2020

”On behalf of the Governors, I wish him, Harriet and family all best wishes and thanks for a job well done.”

Being Chair of Governors at Truro School while Andrew Gordon-Brown has been Headmaster has been both an adventure and a pleasure. I had never been a school governor before, so when Andrew invited me (with the blessing of the Board) to come straight in as Chair I was honoured and daunted. Seven years later I remain honoured and daunted! Not

by Andrew, but by the importance of school governorship.

Andrew had met me as a parent of three happy Truronians and at Cornwall Chamber of Commerce events.

The fact that he made the effort to engage Truro School with the broader Cornwall business community is testament to his polymathic approach to leadership, and his enthusiasm to look outwards became one of the five key pillars of the 2014-2020 Strategic Plan – To be celebrated as a socially and environmentally responsible member of the Cornish community.

First impressions are important, and with Andrew they are impressive.

His Olympic rower’s stature, his thoughtful yet enquiring demeanour and his ability to talk enthusiastically on any number of subjects makes him easy and engaging company.

When you get to know him and learn

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about his experience way beyond the schoolroom you begin to understand where his broad range of interests has been fuelled.

When Andrew led the development of a strategic plan that the whole Truro School family could believe in, this range of skills came to the fore. He impressed the whole governing body with his ability to corral influences and concepts and apply them to the case of our school. After discussing his ideas and desires with governors, he presented the plan to difficult-toplease MIST (Methodist Independent Schools Trust) Trustees who we expected - and I think they themselves expected - to ask lots of tricky questions and objections. I remember the Burrell Theatre was silent. At refreshments in the Lilly Room afterwards there were those murmurs of approval and awed conversation that you get during a great exhibition at an art gallery.

Over Andrew’s seven and a half years with us, he would say he’s most proud of the teaching, the support staff and the senior leadership team he has built up around him and how they have delivered at key points in the School’s life. Famously, the moment of the surprise Full School Inspection when he was at his father’s funeral

and I was away and, of course, how the team has adapted to the current crisis. I am equally impressed at how the School family has been able to deliver teaching excellence whilst the Head has led on creating the Prue Leith Cookery School, the Cornwall Music Service Trust, the Truro Fencing Club partnership, incorporating the Cathedral choristers into a Methodist School with the blessing of The Dean whilst also introducing the girl choristers, and creating the allimportant TS Foundation.

As Andrew goes onto the next stage of his life to become Head of Kingswood School in Bath (a MIST Associate School), on behalf of the Governors I wish him, Harriet and family all best wishes and thanks for a job well done. Andrew, we hope to see you in Cornwall, in Bath or at MIST events soon.

Kim Conchie Chair of Governors

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TERRACES 2019-20

Celebrating 140 years

Uniforms from across the decades

To celebrate the School’s 140-year history as one of Cornwall’s anchor institutions, and of the role that it plays in the wider community, the Senior School came ‘off timetable’ for an afternoon and attended a thanksgiving service, where Old Truronians from the 1940s to the present day addressed current pupils and staff with their recollections of school.

Following their readings, a rededication prayer was delivered, the anniversary cake was cut by an Old Truronian and, as a nod to the past, pupils enjoyed oldfashioned games stalls such as apple

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bobbing, guess the number of sweets in the jar, a coconut shy, and limbo.

Furthermore, pupils and staff were involved in a big community project, sculpting colourful clay wildflowers that have been ‘planted’ amongst the real wildflowers on a major roundabout in Truro. The project built upon a current theme at school around the protection and preservation of nature for future generations, and the bright, sustainable future ahead. In addition, 140 trees were planted on site for everyone to watch flourish in the years to come.

A challenge was set to all pupils and students to do a good deed, echoing Methodist John Wesley’s words, ‘do all of the good, in all of the places, all of the time’. Students sent in heartwarming photos of them doing their bit in the community, acting selflessly in times of need, mirroring the School’s motto ‘Esse Quam Videri - to be, rather than to seem to be’.

Turn the page to view photos of some of the good deeds!

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140 Do all the good

TERRACES 2019-20

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TERRACES 2019-20

Healthy minds In recent years, and arguably particularly this year, it is vital that each child is aware of their mental and physical wellbeing to help themselves and others get through the challenges of life. The nurturing and developing of pupils’ whole wellbeing begins right from their first steps in Nursery through to their last day in Sixth Form.

negatively affecting pupils.

In a move to develop an improved understanding of children’s mental health and a ‘whole school approach’ to improving mental health, Truro School staff have been undertaking mental health first aid training, with 57 members of staff now qualified in Youth Mental Health First Aid.

There are many elements that contribute to one’s mental and physical health, from sport, fitness and getting outdoors to expressing creativity, community work, having pastoral networks and learning about nutrition and how to cook healthy, tasty foods.

These strings in the Truro School bow help ensure the success and personal development of each pupil so that they can flourish socially and academically, and grow to be comfortable in their own skin: ‘Esse Quam Videri’.

Furthermore, during the autumn term, The Woodland Trust Platinum Award was awarded to Prep to recognise their commitment to the environment and celebrate their forest school lessons, which grow a child’s connection with nature from a young age and contribute to a happy childhood. In addition, over a ten-year period, Truro School Prep has planted in excess of 500 trees and created a woodland nature trail, all within the school grounds. Prep pupils also enjoyed their first Wellbeing Day this year, see page 18 for details.

A report published earlier this year revealed that the number of schools commissioning professional help for children’s mental health issues has increased significantly; however only 54% of school leaders think their staff would be confident in knowing how to respond when mental health is

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Ms Mikail-Jones, Forest Coordinator, explained:

School

“The pupils get excited about their forest school lessons.

Having the chance to bring

learning to life outside of classroom walls and getting them out and about in nature at an early age is a fundamental key to their learning and development.”

Throughout lockdown in the summer term, Prep children continued to engage with the outdoors. Key worker children who remained on site grew vegetables for wildlife, and learnt gardening skills by weeding, sowing, watering, planting, digging, and even harvesting their crop, in turn provoking conversations about ants, minibeasts and poisonous plants.

Mrs Luxton commented:

“They relished the calming, hands-on nature of gardening, whether it was getting squirted by the tap while filling up their watering cans, the quiet satisfaction of adding their weeds to the compost bins, or the interest caused by taking home handfuls of chard for dinner.”

Meanwhile at the Senior School, this year the boarding community were introduced to wellbeing and mindfulness activity weekends to help them understand what they can do to take care of themselves. The workshops included Ms Foil sharing her knowledge of coping with exam stress, Mr Thompson leading a singing workshop singing local folk songs, a local yoga instructor teaching various stretches, poses, and breathing routines before encouraging them to relax and meditate, Mrs Mulready teaching the therapeutic art of mandala drawing, and lastly the boarders grouping in to teams in a smoothie challenge judged by the boarding tutors.

Two new School dogs were introduced and a group of anti-bullying ambassadors were announced as an addition to the School’s safeguarding and pastoral network. During Internet Awareness Week the ambassadors held an assembly takeover on the theme of social media, encouraging the whole school to ‘use social media to make the world a kinder place’.

These new introductions build upon traditionally thought-of elements of wellbeing that are deeply routed at Truro School, with a proud sporting history and exciting nutrition

education. Pupils have 150 minutes of physical education which is double the UK Government recommendation.

Mr Sanderson explained:

“It’s not just about competing, it’s about embracing exercise and understanding the benefits that leading a healthy and active lifestyle will bring.

We aim for each student to find what they’re good at, what they enjoy, what they feel comfortable and confident in doing and developing that passion in to a lifelong pursuit.

Young adults are more likely to carry on participating in sport and exercise after they leave us if they can connect positive experiences, sample a range of activities and form friendships whilst at school.”

Following the launch of our purposebuilt cookery school in 2018, the first cohort of Leiths Food and Wine students received their certificates this summer. It has also inspired many Senior pupils to take up cooking as a co-curricular activity or an afterschool club, equipping them with

the knowledge required to buy and prepare a wide range of seasonal ingredients and recipes, either for entertaining guests with style and flair or for life on a budget at university and beyond.

There is a growing demand for more education around nutrition, and the cookery school helps to fill this gap, improving their health and wellbeing at the same time.

The revived Sixth Form Café was also a big hit this year, serving around 150 meals a day before the school closed in lockdown, proving that healthy can be delicious, tantalising and exotic.

Maria Taylor, commented:

Head

of

Cookery,

“We encourage children to build a healthy relationship with good food and appreciate the benefits of home cooking as part of a balanced diet. After all, children need to be both full and healthy to learn and grow to their utmost potential.”

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TERRACES 2019-20

Pre-Prep Life

First trip

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Nursery started this year fascinated by their new shoes, which resulted in the class using shoes as a stimulus for learning. This keen interest in footwear prompted a trip to Clarks in Truro.

The children loved their first outing, exploring and learning all about shoes; they especially loved the minibus journey.

A day in the life of a Victorian As part of their topic work, Year 1 spent a day experiencing the life of Victorian children.

Nursery children get stuck in Nursery settled in to their classrooms at the beginning of term, playing, learning and creating together.

Some came dressed up as fine young Victorian children; others sported the chimney sweep look, complete with dirt smudges on their faces. They all enjoyed a delicious Victorian afternoon tea party.

The children got straight in, painting, squashing blackberries, learning German words and enjoying story time, learning songs and actions, and even measuring and serving each other in their own ‘shoe shop’.

Say cheese!

Reception learnt all about teeth when Freya’s parents, Mr and Mrs McHugh, who are both dentists, came to talk to the children.

They also learnt all about healthy eating, and made smoothies including ‘Pink Power’ (Beetroot) and ‘Green Goodness’.

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Pre-Prep politics As the adults woke up to the results of the General Election, the Pre-Prep parties spent the day battling for their peers’ votes and campaigning their policies.

The winning party was the yellow PrePrep Party who won their classmates over with their ideas for a swing in the playground, a tree house, blazers for uniform, wearing home clothes every Friday and a class Guinea Pig. Leading the party was Jenny with her loyal group of Amelia, Shiloh, Megan, Raif, and Poppy.

An Out-Of-ThisWorld Christmas Early Years performed their version of the classic nativity play towards the end of term, An-Out-Of-ThisWorld Christmas featuring astronauts, mission control, robots, engineers and aliens.

Mary, Joseph, shepherds and angels featured in this space-tastic performance with underlying themes of family, friends and coming together for Christmas.

Well done to everyone in Key Stage 1 for an enthusiastic performance!

Final nativity of the year Nursery and Reception finished the nativity season when they performed their ‘very wriggly nativity’.

The children did a superb job remembering their lines, song lyrics and dance moves. The parents were particularly amused when the group shouted ‘we can’t sit still’!

Decoration Day Decoration day was a wonderfully messy and festive craft-filled occasion.

The colourful decorations were then hung around the Pre-Prep hall, meaning Christmas could officially begin, hoorah!

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Prep Life AUTUMN

Year 4 visit Shelterbox HQ Year 4 explored the Geography topic ‘What makes the Earth shake, rattle and roll?’.

To understand real life natural disasters and their devastating effect on local populations, the pupils visited Shelterbox Visitor Centre in Truro to see what relief is needed when disasters strike.

They looked inside hot and cold relief tents, explored uses of some items sent in the boxes, including a super solar light, and packed up a box, learning the right things to pack and how to pack them.

Year 5 trip to Bodmin Moor The whole of Year 5 went to Bodmin Moor as part of the John Muir Award. We travelled there on four mini buses. Miss Raines drove our bus. It took about an hour to get there.

When we arrived at Minions village, it was a lovely landscape. First, we went to the public toilets, then we started walking along the old railway track. Mr Lord made a challenge to see if we could stride the giant stepping stones!

After that we scrambled up the steep hill to the Cheesewring and Mr Lord told us a story about how they got there, while we were eating our snacks. As we made our way down the hill, we came to Mr Gumb’s house (a stone building which was a cave) where Mr Gumb and his family had lived. Mr Gumb worked in the quarry.

Then we went to Gold Diggers quarry and ate our lunch while watching two swimmers jump in off the rocks. One person jumped off the cliff, it amazed us all!

The water was crystal clear.

After lunch we walked past calves and horses eating grass. We visited the standing stones and The Hurlers on our way back to the bus, and then drove back to school.

By Oliver M, Charlie, Rosie, Amelia and Grace

Children’s author Ali Sparkes visits Renowned children’s author Ali Sparkes paid a visit to give a workshop, or rather ‘Ali Sparkes’ X Factor fun filled thing’ as it ‘wasn’t work, nor a shop’!

Years 5 and 6 had separate classes and, after determining what made them pick up a book (the cover, the blurb and the first page), the young bookworms were challenged in small groups to create their own title and opening paragraph. They then read their plots out to everyone, and the favourite all came down to a class vote…

The children’s imaginations knew no bounds and their wit and creations kept their peers giggling and gasping.

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Wellbeing Day Years 3-6 enjoyed their first Wellbeing Day. All children were ‘off timetable’ and immersed themselves in a great range of activities, designed to help them find a calm stillness and also allowing them to express their feelings and thoughts in different ways.

The children experienced seven different activities across the day, spending 40 minutes on each: yoga, mindfulness, forest school, tai chi, art, journaling and mindful walking. It was a great pleasure walking around the school and seeing the children so engaged in the activities and wonderful to see our normal busy, bustling site slow right down while the children spent time focusing, breathing and being.

Children in Need Prep pupils, their parents and our teachers kindly donated cakes and money, designed games and ‘spotified’ their clothes - it’s fair to say that this year’s Children in Need day was a great success!

In art, the children made Guatemalan worry dolls; they are encouraged to tell their worries to the doll at night and then put it under the pillow to take the worry away. In tai chi and yoga the children were focusing on their senses, their breathing and slow and steady movements.

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TERRACES 2019-20

Langholme Methodist Home As part of Year 3’s Humanities work the pupils visited Langholme Methodist Home for the Aged. The home provides dedicated residential and dementia care to the elderly, and the children had a wonderfully rewarding time. The pupils showed great maturity in the environment and enjoyed sharing stories with a number of elderly residents.

The pupils spent an hour chatting with the residents, listening to memories from their childhoods and descriptions of their school days and the games they played as children. In turn, the children talked about their favourite subjects, their families and all the things that they like to get up to.

‘Inspecting the Unexpected’ Year 5 performed their comedic take on the classic nativity story Inspecting the Unexpected. Parents sat down to an hour of jokes as the children rolled off their lines. Written by Mrs Gregory, the play saw three separate acts involving the three Year 5 form groups. The plot involved the planning of the annual Christmas story not quite going how you think it would…

Not only did Jedis and Darth Vader feature, but favourites from Toy Story, Harry Potter and Garfield also popped up as modern-day versions of angels, shepherds and the three wise men.

Group dance Year 3 and 5 performed their group dances to their parents and the rest of the school.

Both boys and girls enjoyed learning a fusion of dance styles. Previous units of work have also incorporated jazz, contemporary, commercial and ballet dance styles.

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Shakespeare workshop

Christmas concert

Thirty-five pupils took part in a cast workshop at the Regal Theatre, Redruth. In preparation for their production of Hamlet, staff from the Shakespeare Schools’ Foundation led a workshop, which involved drama games and activities designed to get the children thinking about character and stage craft, and also included the pupils performing and developing a short scene, in this case the ‘To be or not to be’ speech.

The year’s Prep Christmas Concert harnessed the vocal and instrumental abilities of the whole school to deliver an inclusive, fun and festive performance for friends and family.

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TERRACES 2019-20

Senior Life AUTUMN

Bumble and Maverick School dogs Bumble and Maverick were greeted with literal open arms as they settled in to their role as help and support companions.

The aim of having the dogs present is for them to be able to assist children who have special needs, suffer bereavement or who are upset in any way and are in need of calm, comfort and space before being able to tell an adult what has upset them. They could even hear children read, which may help improve confidence.

Butterbum, J Ten talented Sixth Formers took two shows, Butterbum, J, by Benjamin Symes and Bike by Jon Welch, to the world-famous Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

The students spent all but one week of July intensively rehearsing and working together as a professional theatre company before performing to great acclaim in August.

On returning to school, the students performed again in the Burrell Theatre in support of the Sowenna Appeal.

New Sixth Form Café Opens The refreshed café has been completely redecorated with a light and modern nautical design, following extensive work being completed over the summer holidays.

The new focus will be about providing a variety of tasty and exciting dishes using fresh ingredients that are all cooked from scratch on site, in an open kitchen where students can see dishes being prepared right in front of them, whether they’re socialising or studying.

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South West Chef of The Year Well done to George Piccin-White on cooking up a beautiful St Ewe egg pappardelle with St Ives crab, samphire and migas at the South West Chef competition.

Although he didn’t finish the winner, George has kept on progressing, and the dish got better and better every time he cooked it.

As part of his DoE award George is volunteering at St Tudy Inn, and has been helping cook lunchtime crab dishes with the assistance of a chef.

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TERRACES 2019-20

North Cornwall Book Festival

Induction Day The new 1st Years took part in a day full of team-building tasks. Various activities were spread out on the sports field on what turned out to be a dry day.

Book Club attended the annual North Cornwall Book Festival for its seventh year.

The pupils had a fantastic day, receiving professional, real-life writing skills for a variety of styles from authors including John Boyne, best known for his Young Adult novel ‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’; Matt Windle, known as the ‘Poet with Punch’ and Kernow Youth Book Award winner Liz Kessler.

To help them bond, the children lead the way in solving their challenges, giving each other instructions and ideas to be able to complete the scenarios.

Business tips A-Level Business Studies students were given real life insight into running a business with our very own AJ Turner from the Cookery School.

Students listened and asked questions as AJ explained the practicalities of running a business to the smallest details, explaining food budgets and the renovation budget for the new Sixth Form Cafe.

Bex Hogan visits on promotional tour Author and alumni Bex Hogan returned to Truro School to finish her promotional tour around her home county.

Pupils gathered in the library to hear about her debut book, Viper, and then Bex gave a talk about the process of becoming a published author, a creative writing masterclass and an opportunity to buy her book.

Eddie Pearce seizes European Champion Title Eddie Pearce was selected to race for Great Britain in the European Life Saving Championships in Riccione, Italy, in September 2019, where he represented the Youth Boys’ Team consisting of six boys Under 19.

The competition spanned over five days, with one day of Simulated Emergency Response Competition (SERC) followed by two days of pool lifesaving competition, and then two days of ocean and beach competition.

Foodbank donations The tutor group with the most donations to the Camborne Foodbank were 5H, with a total of 108 items.

The pupils were given a tub of chocolates to share as a thank you, but as a group decided they would also donate them too.

In a very close second, 105 food items were donated by form group 4J.

Overall Eddie finished with five medals, including two bronze, one silver and two gold.

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Anti-bullying

Leiths students host Canapé Party

The 15 newly trained Anti-Bullying Ambassadors were announced and they took the opportunity to remind everyone that they don’t need others’ opinions to feel good and that, at the end of the day, it’s our own opinions of ourselves that count the most.

They then asked everyone to a write a compliment to themselves and each other.

Our Upper Sixth Leiths students cooked up a storm at their Christmas Canapé Party.

The talented cooks prepared and served a wide range of delicious canapés and cocktails for friends and family in the Sixth Form Centre, which went down a treat. The young chefs remained calm under pressure and served the guests like true professionals.

Musicians hit the right notes with top awards Huge congratulations to Helena P and Harry F, two incredibly talented musicians, who have both accomplished remarkable musical achievements.

Harry recently took his Diploma of Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (dipABRSM) on the trumpet and passed it with an almost unheard-of Distinction.

Helena’s choral piece Twilight was entered into the BBC’s Inspire Composing Competition and was subsequently performed on BBC Radio 3 by the BBC Singers, in a BBC Prom Concert.

Young Art Cornwall Winners Maisy wins national award Maisy dedicated her Wednesday Afternoon Activity to Helpforce, a new charity working with the NHS aiming to release pressure on NHS Trusts by increasing numbers of volunteers to help with the care of patients. As a result of her hard work volunteering as dementia support at Royal Cornwall Hospital, Treliske, she has been awarded Young Volunteer of the Year at the Helpforce Champions! In an interview with the Daily Mail, she said: “As part of our school curriculum, there’s an enrichment programme where you can choose to do non-academic activities in school time — last year, I began volunteering at the Royal Cornwall Hospital to find out how the NHS works, as I was quite interested in studying medicine. It’s been an amazing experience, and I think the time I’ve spent volunteering has really helped me mature.”

Huge congratulations to Soumya and Sammy who received their Prize Winner certificates and to Emily, Oriel, Charlotte and Grace who received Highly Commended certificates at the Young Art Cornwall presentation evening, in support of Cancer Research UK.

Budding medical students A group of 4th Years and Lower Sixth students went to the Knowledge Spa at Treliske Hospital, to meet health professionals and hear advice about career opportunities in health and care through interactive workshops and exhibits.

A very well deserved award and an inspiration to all, well done Maisy!

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Burrell Theatre transforms into Shakespearean England The annual whole school play transformed the Burrell Theatre into a medieval English forest.

Director of Drama, Ben Oldfield, abridged and adapted Shakespeare’s eight English history plays into one epic storytelling experience, ‘This Sceptered Isle’.

Diggory Gill played the petulant and volatile Richard II, Harrison Fraser his dour nemesis Henry Bolingbroke (later Henry IV). Kit Gordon-Brown took on the role of the dashing young prince Hal, who went on to glorious victory at Agincourt. Chloe Lansdowne was the young, troubled Henry VI, beset on all sides by ambitious and dangerous men. Max Cherry was the dandy and debauched Edward IV, and Monty Rix his younger brother – the scheming arch-villain of the piece, Richard III. Costumes were hired from the Royal Shakespeare Company, lending the show an added realistic element.

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TERRACES 2019-20

Lanterns light up the city

House Music Competition It was with much excitement that we welcomed the final nine soloists and three ensembles to perform in the finals of the 2019 House Music Competition and Gala Concert.

The dark winter’s sky lit up at the annual City of Lights parade through Truro City Centre.

This year, the House Music Competition received an amazing 170 applications, each in support of their House. Following a rigorous selection process, this was whittled down to 57 semi-finalists before the finalists were announced.

Prep and Senior pupils united to walk the route, showing off their impressive creations.

At the end of the evening, Tim announced the category winners and congratulated all of the finalists on their performances, both in terms of musical ability and their presentation of the music.

This year’s theme was ‘Under the Clock Tower’ and Truro School pupils interpreted this as Truro in a bygone age when it was a busy port, and sailing ships were a common sight at Lemon Quay.

Congratulations to everyone who entered and provided fantastic support to their Houses!

Staff Panto The autumn term ended with a Snow White panto with a twist. All the characters were staff members and made convincing dwarfs, princes, a wicked stepmother, guards, Snow White herself and even a bear at one point.

The children laughed along with (or possibly at) their teachers in funny costumes and questionable make-up.

They particularly enjoyed chanting ‘he’s behind you!’ and making a grab for the sweets being thrown into the audience.

The light-hearted fun was the perfect way to end a hard-working and jampacked term.

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Sixth Form Winter Warmer Sixth Form enjoyed a well-deserved break at their Winter Warmer Social to kick off Christmas celebrations.

The students had a fun time developing and celebrating friendships within the Sixth Form community whilst joining in a range of games from ‘mummy making’ to ‘doughnut dangling’.

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Nine Lessons and Carols The traditional service of scripture readings and music tells the Christmas story. The nine lessons were read by both pupils and staff whilst the school’s Chamber Choir and the Prep School choir provided outstanding music.

Sixth Form celebrate Christmas The festive spirit was in abundance as the Sixth Form students and staff enjoyed their end-of-year Christmas celebrations at the Alverton Hotel.

Sparkling Christmas Concert The energetic and fun-filled performances of our pupils and students brought the Assembly Hall to life at the annual Senior Christmas Concert. Mr Palmer, Director of Music, and his team directed a sensational programme of Christmas carols and festive delights to end the term in style.

The first half of the programme saw Christmas classics and performances from the Vocal Consort, Wind Band, 3rd Year Christmas Song Winners, Flute Choir, Junior Strings, Clarinet Choir and Saxophone Ensemble and a vivacious rendition of Rita Ora’s less classical ‘Make your own kind of music’ by B Natural – the Girls’ a Cappella and Pop Choir.

The second half started with a sparkling performance of ‘Christmas Fantasy’ by the School’s Symphony Orchestra, followed by the Senior Strings, Boys’ Barbershop, Oboe Ensemble and the 1st Year Pupils. The Jazz Orchestra brought the evening to a close with an upbeat performance of ‘Amazing Grace’.

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Pre-Prep Life SPRING An abundance of activity for dino-day Reception were learning all about dinosaurs and, to complement their lessons, the workshop included decorating their own colourful dinosaurs, decorating dino cakes and identifying which tusks belonged to which dinosaur.

Meanwhile, Year 1 were having a sustainable Valentine’s day by creating heart decorations out of dried leaves.

Scientists explore ‘Hot and Cold’ The chemistry team from the Senior School were invited to spend some time with Nursery, helping them to explore ‘Hot and Cold’ properties. They arrived with lots of exciting substances and experiments for the children to explore.

There were trays kitted out with many different coloured slimes, some really gooey, some squishy; all felt cold!

The children played with cornflour in water and explored its ‘non-Newtonian’ properties. They also played with different metals, some heavy, some light, and compared these to ‘warmer’ polystyrene balls. They got their hands very cold as they played with many different coloured ice balls, great for picking up and pushing around the trays as they melted, they were described as very slippery!

Search for the Lost Words The children in Year 2 studied the book The Lost Words by Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris. The children discovered the names of animals and plants that are disappearing from our countryside and also how the use of the language around nature is vanishing.

Year 2 visit Bristow Year 2 had an exciting opportunity to see the search and rescue helicopter based at Bristow, Newquay Airport.

The children got to meet the helicopter pilot and, with many years’ experience, he was ready to answer the abundance of questions the pupils had.

After seeing footage of search and rescue operations, and much to their delight, the children were eager and ready to be winched up into the helicopter.

The children explored the book and wrote their own ‘spells’ to conjure the words and creatures back into existence. Year 2 also learnt about the paintings that Jackie Morris created, and painted their own watercolour pictures.

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Pop! Bang! Jump!

Year 2 took a trip to the Senior School to mark National Science Week, where they experimented making bright lights and loud noises.

Prep Life SPRING

Discovering an ancient world Year 3 enjoyed their trip to the Royal Cornwall Museum to see for themselves Ancient Egyptian artefacts.

They had been learning all about Ancient Egyptian life in history and were keen to share their knowledge with the museum staff.

With lab coats and safety goggles donned, the range of experiments began. Burning magnesium, creating solids, gas and hot and cold liquids, creating mystical ‘genie’ smoke, popping hydrogen, and saving the best until last, going out with a bang: putting fire to small and large hydrogen balloons, which definitely made a few jump…

The children got to experience being archaeologists as they got to carefully handle real artefacts that were commonplace in Ancient Egyptian life, from farm tools to jewellery and masks.

What was Victorian Truro like?

Year 6 enjoyed a visit from Kresen Kernow to learn about Truro in the Victorian era.

After proving themselves worthy archaeologists there was a chance to see a real mummy, draw on papyrus exactly as the Egyptians would have done and, after a break and a snack, take part in a play as Egyptian characters.

The children rotated tables looking at old maps and identifying where modern places would be; comparing old and new photos of the town centre; looking at old censuses; and comparing proposed architectural designs for the Cathedral, and identifying the correct one.

The children asked all about Victorian professions such as Ironmongers, talked about modern pollution and pollution the Victorians would have experienced, and learnt about how the river once ran through Lemon Quay, with sailing ships being a frequent sight.

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Being a Tudor in Cornwall Year 4 were visited by a member of Kresen Kernow, a home for Cornwall’s archives based in Redruth.

The children learnt about being a Tudor in Cornwall and what kind of possessions they would have owned and passed down, and particularly enjoyed writing inventories with quills, just like Queen Elizabeth I, whose most prized possession was her feather bed!

Ballet class The Grade 1 and 2 ballet pupils have been successfully practising their repertoire of steps and core techniques in a relaxed and fun environment.

World Book Day Children paraded their fabulous costumes in assembly with characters such as Boy in the Dress, Alice in Wonderland and The Tiger Who Came To Tea. Even Jesus from the Bible arrived‌ Teachers joined in, with Head of Prep Sarah Patterson coming as The Cat in the Hat, and others as The Demon Headmaster, The Snow Queen and Pippi Longstocking, to name just a few!

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Year 3 play With lockdowns and self-isolations increasing, Year 3’s spirits would not be dampened, and they found a way to perform their play Out Of This World’, which they had been practising for weeks, to their friends and families.

Platinum award on Forest School scheme

Year 5 step back in time to the Vikings Year 5 spent a day exercising all their Viking knowledge at the National Maritime Museum, Falmouth.

Easily spotting native Viking countries, the children then identified where the Vikings invaded, and saw for themselves the items that would’ve been traded, including middle eastern spices and Scandinavian wool, wolf fur, cow horn and combs.

The whole play was performed and filmed so that loved ones will be able to watch at home, with a limited audience present.

With underlying themes of caring for the planet, and being thoughtful and caring to one another, the play was an uplifting story amongst strange times.

Prep received a platinum award by the Woodland Trust for getting involved in green activities including tree planting, visiting a local woodland, reducing carbon emissions, and being a woodland ambassador.

Only 134 schools nationwide have achieved this level, and in the South West region, seven have platinum status.

The Green Tree Schools initiative offers the opportunity to bring the great outdoors, wildlife and green issues into the classroom. Schools win awards for participating in green activities and completing modules, both in and out of the classroom.

The young historians divided into two groups to see the items they’d be trading with each other, taking it in turns to nominate a team leader who would be in charge of securing a good trade deal.

After some very hard-fought trading it was time to make their own Viking coins, stamping a mould into a pewter coin using a hammer.

House music competition The competition was tough at this year’s Prep house music final with talent coming from the drums, piano, clarinet, guitar and bass.

The winner was Inigo, Year 6.

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Senior Life SPRING

Scholarships awarded at top institutions Talented musician Harry Flint has been awarded two scholarships to his top choice higher education establishments.

Harry applied to Royal Academy of Music where he was immediately offered a scholarship, and two days later was offered a scholarship to the Guildhall School of Music, as well as being offered a place at Royal College of Music.

300 Butterflies To commemorate the 75th Holocaust Memorial Day, time was devoted within chapel services, with the addition of an installation of the project 300 Butterflies.

Over the winter months, teachers and pupils, led by Mr Baker, were researching and creating a wonderful installation named 300 Butterflies.

The display has been created in support of The Butterfly Project, an international project aimed at educating, commemorating and honouring the 1.5 million children whose lives were lost in the Holocaust.

Victorious geologists

Excited Harry said: ‘I actually fell off my seat when I was offered a scholarship in my audition at the Royal Academy... The panel were particularly impressed with the amount of unique performance opportunities I have had such as singing a solo live on BBC Radio 3, and playing in some of the UK’s most iconic venues including The Royal Albert Hall and Birmingham Symphony Hall’.

Alex, Sam, James, Finley, Monty, Lily, Hannah and Anna debated two motions: whether we should regret our country’s annual commemoration of war and whether workers should be given the opportunity to give up some rights in return for higher pay.

A huge congratulations to four Upper Sixth students who were offered places at the University of Oxford and University of Cambridge.

Head Girl Georgia Stone will be studying French and Arabic at Magdalen, Oxford, including spending her second year studying Arabic in the Middle East.

Another successful applicant, Helena Paish, beamed: ‘I was utterly stunned and surprised when I found out that I had an offer to study music at Trinity College Cambridge. It certainly took a while for it to sink in, but the initial ecstasy has just about worn off now, replaced with an increased motivation to meet my grades as I’m certainly not out of the woods yet’.

A chuffed Clemmy Scott said: ‘I am ecstatic about the prospect of studying English in such an incredible atmosphere and the idea of being able to discuss my favourite texts with people of such high experience is very exciting’.

A total of nine students were interviewed, which in itself is a big achievement as the application process is notoriously challenging.

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They produced a poster on the Emergence of Life which focused on early life and the prospect of life on other planets; they also gave a presentation on the topic and then competed in a quiz. They won all sections convincingly and were a real credit to the school.

Oxford Schools’ Debate

Offers to Oxbridge

Katherine Gregory exclaimed: ‘When I received my offer to study at Cambridge University, I was pretty surprised. Initially I didn’t realise because my email didn’t mention the word Cambridge once. Upon reading it, it sunk in quickly that I had been accepted. I am incredibly excited and honoured, and especially really looking forward to potentially being able to continue singing as a soprano in a Cambridge College choir’.

Lower Sixth Geology students Monty, Oscar, Molly, Sophia, James and Hugo competed in the regional round of the Geological Society’s School Competition and won.

Vocal masterclass from an MBE The Chamber Choir and Girl Choristers had exciting Masterclasses from Ralph Allwood MBE. Ralph is one of the world’s leading authorities on young vocal ensembles and probably best known for directing the Eton Choral Courses, which he founded in 1980, and The Rodolfus Choir, made up from the best singers on those courses.

All of our teams put in performances that were a credit to the school, and came away much enlarged in understanding of both the format and the issues debated.

Finals of Mock Trials Competition A talented team performed very impressively and with great enjoyment in the Independent Schools’ Mock Trial Competition.

Preparations began before Christmas, with a fascinating morning spent at Truro Crown Court, observing trials and getting a sense of the practicalities of the roles of different legal personnel. We were lucky enough to have time to chat with two judges in court, later followed by tea and Q and A back at school with D.J. Jonathan Stone.

The competition required a team of four barristers (Alex, Hettie, Sam and Finley), four witnesses (Charlotte, Holly, Jenny and Jess) and a clerk / usher (Scarlett). Detailed files for two cases were sent, to be combed over for key details and weaknesses by the barristers and for the statements to be learnt by the witnesses. One case involved a hair stylist accused of money laundering and the other an attack with acid by a party gate crasher.

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The weird and wonderful World of Biology Professor Laurence Hurst (CO83), President of the Genetics Society and alumni of Truro School, visited to speak to Sixth Form Biology students, alumni, parents and A-Level teachers from across the county.

He delivered his talk called Nothing in Biology Makes Sense and explored issues such as varied testicular size in mammals, the strangeness of drinking milk and language evolution.

Laurence Daniel Hurst FMedSci FRS is a Professor of Evolutionary Genetics in the Department of Biology and Biochemistry at the University of Bath, the Director of the Milner Centre for Evolution and the President of the Genetics Society, one of the world’s oldest such societies.

He is a leading authority on the evolution of genetic systems.

Royal Society of British Artists Upper Sixth student Ella Williams had the amazing opportunity of exhibiting at the Royal Society of British Artists (RBA) Rising Stars Exhibition, after being selected for inclusion at this renowned annual arts event.

Held at both The Mall Galleries and the Royal Over-Seas League (ROSL) in London, the exhibition was opened by guest speaker Will Gompertz, BBC Arts Editor and writer for The Guardian and The Times newspapers.

Baking for Australia The bushfires in Australia had a devastating effect on its countryside and wildlife, and shocking images circled worldwide. Feeling compelled to help from the other side of the world, our pupils decided to do their bit and hold a cake sale to raise funds.

3rd Years came together to battle the wind and rain to display their cakes. Despite the miserable weather, children flocked to the stall and couldn’t wait to have a slice of the action.

Students deliver their EPQ projects This year’s Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) students presented their projects in the Chapel and Burrell Theatre.

The topics ranged from Water Security to German Unification with a plethora in between. The audience’s questions were challenging but excellent and really highlighted the depth in the students’ knowledge. There were opportunities to see the artefacts and talk with the students about their experiences.

Medical Pathways A group of local medical professionals visited students to talk about how they got into their respective careers.

The students listened intently to their introductions, what they studied, and the numerous paths various degrees can take them. The professionals then took it in turns to visit each group to talk more in depth about their responsibilities and to answer any questions.

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Top GCSE marks

Portugal surf adventure

Molly was congratulated on achieving the highest Geology GCSE mark in the country.

Miss Hope, Head of Geology, presented Lower Sixth student Molly with an engraved Geological hammer in celebration of her hard work and success in achieving what we believe to be the top mark in the country for GCSE Geology. Miss Hope commented, “Molly is an outstanding Geologist with a natural talent for the subject.”

Furthermore, we understand that 5 of the top 10 GCSE results in the country this year were achieved by Truro School pupils.

Drama trip to London On the itinerary was the Royal Opera House, where the group had a look around inside one of the large rehearsal rooms, saw the set of La Traviata, visited the street used as Diagon Alley, had a picture opportunity outside the Duke of York’s Theatre for an evening performance and visited the world-famous Pineapple Dance Studios before a dance workshop with a member of the Matilda cast, with a grand finale of watching a performance of Matilda.

A day in the life of a Vet 1st Years to Upper Sixth were invited to Penmellyn Vet Practice to learn hands on about veterinary medicine.

Students were provided with a unique opportunity to see behind the scenes of a working veterinary practice and hospital, which will help inform their decision-making about entering a career in this area.

They had tours from two of their vets, one specialising in small animals and the other in equine veterinary medicine.

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Renowned artist visits Heseltine In the final days of the Jayne Callaghan Exhibition on display in the Heseltine Gallery, Artist Anthony Frost, son of the late Terry Frost, visited the exhibition with Mark Callaghan, Jayne’s twin brother.

Terry Frost features heavily in Jayne’s collection, where much of his art work has been previously unseen.

Shakespeare Festival It was with much pride and pleasure, and not a little anticipation, that friends and family were welcomed to Truro School’s 15th 2nd Year Shakespeare Festival.

Over a few weeks, the English corridors resounded with the bloodcurdling war cries, laughter, rock music and earnest discussion of beards and wings which must accompany any worthwhile production of Shakespeare’s work.

Exceptional performances at Jazz Concert Spurred on by Mr Thomson’s infectious enthusiasm, the Jazz Concert gets bigger and better each year with pupils from all ages performing both instrumental and vocal jazz in a live setting.

This complete immersion into the language of Jazz created a number of highlevel performances throughout the night, with the enjoyment of playing live jazz shining through at all times.

The evening included a collection for the Australian Red Cross, helping with disaster relief and recovery work following the bush fire tragedy.

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Senior Charity Concert The audience at the Senior Music Charity Concert enjoyed an evening full of instrumental talent.

The chosen charity was Children’s Hospice South West who provide hospice care for children with life-limiting conditions and their whole family across the South West.

Junior Charity Concert Girls and boys took to the stage in a bid to raise money for the Sowenna Appeal.

Classic hits such as Fly Me To The Moon were sung, right through to a cover of Billie Eilish’s Bored.

A representative from the Sowenna Appeal spoke during the interval about all the hard work that goes on at the centre, and what the money raised will help provide.

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2nd Year science fair Science week ended with a 2nd Year science fair where they displayed their findings of their chosen experiments.

Ranging from measuring spice tolerance to the happiness of seeing a cat, the scientists displayed their results on colourful display boards, ready for three scientists from the University of Exeter to judge them: Dr Katie Shanks, Dr Ajit Pillai, and Mr Jon Hardwick.

Sports Dinner Nearly 100 guests were welcomed to the Alverton Hotel to celebrate the fantastic achievements of our sportsmen and women alongside great food and company at this year’s Sports Dinner.

International Women’s Day Since girls were first welcomed to Truro School in the late 1970s, we have cultivated an environment in which girls and boys develop mutual respect and empathy for one another, are exposed to different viewpoints and are encouraged to collaborate and achieve together.

The campaign theme for this year’s International Women’s Day was #eachforequal and saw a number of missions to help forge a gender-equal world.

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The evening’s guest speakers were former England cricketer Jack Richards and Linda Mitchell-Norfolk, physiotherapist at 14 major games, including the Olympics in Atlanta, Sydney and Salt Lake City.

During the evening Mr Sanderson announced this year’s sports ambassador and sports personality awards before reiterating the importance of sport; not for the winning but for the life lessons it teaches and for the friendships it forms.

TRURO SCHOOL SPORTS AMBASSADOR 2020 MOLLIE B TRURO SCHOOL SPORTS PERSONALITY 2020 EDDIE P

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Summer Life

Welcome back

PRE-PREP

Nursery children returned to the school grounds in June and took the newly implemented measures in their strides.

Virtual Learning

To promote cleanliness and personal hygiene, a ‘bubble fest’ was organised.

In keeping with the festival theme, the children also had a ‘dough disco’ to improve the dexterity in their fingers and enhance the muscles and tendons in their hands, manipulating dough to a groovy tune.

The summer term was not one that anyone expected. Virtual learning continued throughout the whole 10 week; celebrations, assemblies, lessons and events moved into the virtual world but still the school community found ways to come together in isolating times.

Nursery embraced learning opportunities which are all around, but specifically in the outdoor area, which offers tremendous scope for the children to become self-reliant and make their own decisions.

Year 2 Sports Day Year 2 were still able to have a Sports Day this year, albeit a shortened version. They were excited to compete for their house and ran, jumped and threw with all their might. The day was streamed live on Microsoft Teams for parents to view at home.

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Summer Life

PREP

Virtual Teaching

Virtual lessons continued throughout the summer term. Physical lessons only returned as term neared the end, where Reception, Year 1, and Year 6 were welcomed back to the prep site in ‘bubbles’, small groups of children up to 15.

Gradually, all prep years returned to school by the end of term as lockdown was eased.

BBC 500 words Year 5 pupils Iris and Gabriel were longlisted for the BBC Radio 2 500 words competition. Iris and Gabriel were two of 5,000 selected out of 135,000 at that stage.

Cooking A range of subjects have been using cookery as a key learning mechanism throughout the term, focusing on developing basic cookery skills and bringing topics to life. Children made ‘VE Day pizzas’, Victoria sponge, baked beans on toast, and soup with either flatbread or soda bread.

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Year 6 hold a very French day Sadly, Year 6 were unable to go on their planned Normandy trip, but all was not lost as the pupils celebrated all things French instead.

Dressed in the French flag colours of rouge, blanc and bleu, the children learnt how to ask for lunch in French, played boules and learnt different areas of France through quizzes and maps.

VE celebrations May marked the 75th anniversary f VE Day and, throughout the school, a variety of topics marked this important occasion.

Year 2 created some wonderful medal designs as part of their VE Day literacy topic. Many of the children enjoyed delving into their ancestral wartime history and creating medals in honour of their achievements.

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In Science, pupils enjoyed learning about the Spitfire and testing out plane designs, along with creating invisible ink secret messages, reading Morse code, code making and code breaking.

There were also some magnificent posters in French and beautiful mug designs in DT.

NHS rainbows Some of the prep children who were being educated on site throughout lockdown painted a rainbow thankyou banner for the NHS. This was proudly put on display at the prep school entrance, which many hospital workers pass daily.

Over the weeks more and more rainbows appeared throughout the school and the community.

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Cornwall School Games

Community spirit

KS1 children, Year 6 and key-worker children really enjoyed the different athletics challenges in this year’s virtual Cornwall School Games (CSG). There was standing long jump, standing high jump and speed bounce. Star of the show was Mr. Ellison, who delighted the key worker children with his incredible jumping talents.

Prep siblings Harvey and Iris helped organise and invite neighbours to a socially distanced coffee morning in their village, which was well attended.

Harvey told knock-knock jokes to an elderly neighbour who lives alone. It was her first time out in the village since the beginning of lockdown and she was pleased to be out after all that time.

When Year 4 children returned to school they joined in with the boccia and bowls challenges in school. Scoring a strike in the skittles activity was highly entertaining. The other challenge was a target throw, best of three shots, into a bucket. And it wasn’t only the children who were having fun; many staff joined in the challenges too, scoring maximum points in their skittles and target throw activities.

The idea was for everyone to feel less ‘shut away’ and, when everyone went back to their gardens, one neighbour commended Harvey on his ‘beautiful writing on her invitation’.

Neighbourhood deliveries Finlay delivered supplies to an elderly neighbour once a week. He used his pedal tractor and trailer and loaded it up before cycling the load down his lane. The neighbour said she could hear him coming and it was a highlight of her week. Finlay’s generosity made it on to BBC Spotlight and BBC Radio Cornwall.

A marathon of a run for George George’s youngest little cousin, Amalie, was born with a congenital heart defect which meant she had open-heart surgery at two weeks old to switch her aorta and her pulmonary arteries. The research undertaken by the incredible surgeon who operated on her is funded by the British Heart Foundation.

During lockdown George and his cousins decided they wanted to do something for the British Heart Foundation, so the nine of them (including Amalie) ran a marathon between them over a week or so and raised over £750.

A big event planned was the Hip-Hop dance. Year 2, Year 4, Year 6 and key-worker children headed out into the sunshine for the afternoon to choreograph some routines. Several of the children performed live at the start of the afternoon to share some of the work they have completed in dance over the past year.

Year 5 & 6 Sports Day When we first heard that Years 5 and 6 were heading back into school, we were determined to offer them a Sports Day. It wouldn’t be easy as most of the usual athletics activities (such as long jump and high jump) were off limits.

The children were back in school so all the activities needed to be socially distanced and needed to avoid any contact of shared equipment.

Relays without batons? Check.

Throwing activities without equipment? Impossible, but there was a solution involving giant rhino tubs, full to the brim of soapy water, in the different ‘bubble’ areas on the school field.

Casper’s 30 miler Seven-year-old Casper rose money for The Cornwall Anaesthesia Charitable Fund, a Royal Cornwall Hospitals Charitable Fund, by running the ‘30 Miler Commando Challenge’. The 30 miler is the endurance test all Royal Marines have to pass before they can be called Commandos.

Casper was inspired to run his own in aid of this important charity. Casper’s 30-miler campaign gained support from all over the country and included messages of support from Old Turonian Sir Ben Ainslie and the Commando Training Centre, to name just a few. Casper ran a mile a day, every day, for 30 days in the month of May, raising an amazing £10,758.

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Speech Day Speech Day took a more virtual and socially distanced format this year. Instead of pupils gathered in the Assembly Hall and proud parents watching, the prizes were filmed ready for parents to watch in the morning.

Year 6 then made their way outside to collect their prizes from the table where Ms Patterson directed them to their prizes instead of shaking their hands.

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Summer Life

Prep Prize Winners Subject and Achievement Awards Form

Attainment

Progress

Citizenship Effort Awards

3LL

Lowenna

Will

Nathaniel

3SM

Joseph

Teddy

Harris

4ME

Rosie

George

Theo

4SB

William

Nancy

William

5JE

Scarlett

Charlie

Jack

5JL

Sarang

Clara

Eva

5SL

Jessica

Rosie

William

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Winnie

Georgia

Reggie

Caitlin

Grace

Jemima

6AG

Robbie

George

6JF

Oliver

Bou

6SS

Hector

Sebastian

Lear Cup for Innovative and Creative Dunstone-Moore Mathematics Shield The Resilience Cup

Keyboard Instrumental Cup

Nathan Harvey Cup for Singing

Polkinhorn Music Trophy (Brass)

Guitar Award

Iwan & Monica Thomas Music Cup

Trevada Music Trophy (Woodwind)

Wade Cup for Strings

Badminton Cup

Bushcraft Award

Cross-Country Cup

Cycling Cup

Football Cup

Football Progress Award

Hockey Cup (for Boys)

Hockey Cup (for Girls)

Judo Award (for Boys)

Judo Award (for Girls)

Netball Cup

Rugby Award

Boys’ Swimming Cup

Girls’ Swimming Cup

Gwynedd Roes Dance Cup

Grassby Cup for Sportsmanship

Scratchwood Salver for Sportsmanship Rolfe English Cup

Creative Writing Cup

Geography Prize

History Cup

RE Prize

Computing Cup

Wills Mathematics Cup

Maths Progress Cup

Gabriel Sarang Bradley Dylan Joshua Woody Gryff Inigo Florence Lowena Joe Miles Jacob Luke Kayo Oscar Roman Ella Kayo Beth Alice Felix Benjamin Harriet Lowena Jacob Ella Florence Henry Joseph Harry Imogen Rafferty Luke Felicity

Creative Arts

Campbell Cup for Science

Gryff Art Cup

Ella Drawing Cup

Lawrence David Neale Special Art Cup Ted Design and Technology Cup

Alfred Drama Cup

Lilia Glenys Tall Cup for First Aid

Ben Colin Dower Green Prize

Sam Modern Languages Cup

uke Public Performance Cup

Emilia Kindness Cup

Amy Friendship Cup

Annabel Monitors’ and House Leadership Cup Nemo Thomas Stratton Cup (Leadership)

Ellis Butler Cup for General Knowledge Mimi Glasson Endeavour Cup George Perseverance Cup

Thomas Cornwall Hugs Grenfell Cup of Community Spirit Zara Citizenship Cup Sam David Pierce Cup for Sports (Boys)

George Dyson Project Award Archie Robertson Cup for Sports (Girls)

Beth Suzan Szepietowska Cup for Set Design Beatrice Sport and Outdoor Education Cup

Woody The Willday Cup (Life Skills)

Tilly-Rose Performing Arts Cup

Farrah Sanders Cup (Creative Arts)

Jackson The Humanities Cup

Felix The Academic Cup

Dylan The Head’s Cup

Beatrice All pupils in Year 6 have been awarded the Truro Prep Diploma

SENIOR

Remote Learning Summer term began with a national lockdown in place and remote teaching continuing on from the end of spring term.

The challenge was to craft a balanced and sustainable programme that would provide our students with the pace and challenge to continue to make progress, the opportunity to explore new and exciting ways of learning and, crucially, strike a balance between time spent ‘live learning’ on screen and working independently to master knowledge, understanding and skills. We did not pretend that our programme was the finished product; it was created to evolve over time, adapting in response to feedback from students and parents.

We drew on and improved our digital resources, whilst making sure that learning and teaching online remained

inclusive, including for those with individual needs or particularly complex circumstances. Personal and pastoral support, the promotion of wellbeing and an active cocurriculum remained vital too. Creative opportunities were found to encourage peer-to-peer collaboration, constructive competition and mutual support.

This was challenging for students and staff alike, and everybody’s experiences were their own, but it also created opportunities. Some pupils and classes progressed much further than expected, and the independent study skills and intellectual curiosity of many were greatly enhanced.

Staff engaged with energy and open-mindedness. Many developed new techniques and skills, and there grew a real appetite to reflect on how educational provision at the School can be evolved and enhanced for the long term based on our experiences of the pandemic.

Richard Mason joins live chat Professional sailor Richard Mason took part in a live discussion as part of remote learning. Richard has competed in Olympic classes and solo offshore events, and is currently part of Sir Ben Ainslie’s Sail GP team’s F50, with whom he won the Sydney Sail GP series earlier in the year.

During the talk Richard offered advice and answered a number of questions, led by Sixth Form student Henry.

Henry commented, “It was really inspirational to hear from somebody so enthusiastic about their sport. Richard’s main message was that commitment, dedication and, more importantly, enjoyment in the sport are the key ingredients for success. Richard also proves that it is possible to pursue sailing as a career alongside academic study.”

Extreme sailing We were delighted to welcome Dr Bailey who generously gave her time to virtually share her phenomenal sailing experience, which included being a crew member and doctor aboard the MAXI- Catamaran Playstation/Cheyenne in which she achieved four world records, including the Round-the-World Record and Trans-Med World Speed record. Dr Bailey is also a RYA sailing coach, GP and dermatologist for the Royal Navy and NHS in Cornwall.

Dr Bailey’s presentation provided a startling insight into the highlights and challenges faced aboard a maxi-catamaran on a round-the-world race, including the isolation and loneliness felt whilst floating through the ocean, and how they survived dismasting in the Southern Ocean and drifting for a further week. Pupils once again put forward a range of interesting questions for Dr Bailey.

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Face shields for key workers Truro School’s DT department’s Mr Baker, Miss Coleridge and Mr Shardlow used their skills to produce much-needed protective face shields for those in the local community who were on the frontline fighting Covid-19.

There was a huge demand for them after a social media post attracted much attention and requests came flooding in fast.

Mr Baker commented: “We were able to make 90 reuseable shields in a day, which have already been distributed to surgeries, care homes and hospitals across mid-Cornwall.”

The face shields were made using an adjustable laser-cut polypropylene headband and a curved PVC shield, which can be wiped clean, with the help of various technology.

Mr Baker explained: “The school’s 3D printers are busy.

Two of the school’s Creality CR10 3D printers have been loaned to a former student who is producing face shields for the Newquay and Padstow areas and the new BCN Sigmax R19 is proving invaluable. Although materials are increasingly scarce, we have been able to source additional materials, which should keep us in production for a while yet.”

Truro School partners with charity The Hive Cornwall Truro School partnered with Cornish charity The Hive to produce up to 4000 meals a week for people suffering from food insecurity.

The School donated use of its catering facilities and cookery staff to help The Hive batch-produce nutritious food. Using surplus food products donated by national suppliers, the team have been busily preparing and cooking a range of delicious meals for children who normally qualify for free school meals, and whose schools are now closed, and elderly people.

The Hive, having outgrown the kitchens at RNAS Culdrose, put out an appeal for the use of an industrial kitchen and Truro School stepped in to help.

Assistant Head of Cookery at Truro School, Alistair Turner, commented: “It is a privilege to be working alongside The Hive to produce food for those who would otherwise struggle during this period. The catering facilities at Truro School are perfect for this project and, with the school moving to remote teaching during this period, they are facilities that would otherwise be sitting empty.”

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No.1 school for DofE in the South West A record-breaking year of DofE activity saw Truro School pupils awarded the highest number of awards across all schools in the South West.

A total of 169 pupils completed their respective Award. In addition, a certificate presented to the School from the DofE South West Director stated that Truro School participants spent a total of 2756 hours learning a skill, 2925 hours of physical activity and 2795 hours (equivalent to £12,158 social value) spent volunteering to help others in the local community.

These fantastic results reflect the incredible hard work and commitment of the Truro School DofE Coordinator, Outdoor Pursuits team and everyone involved in supporting and delivering the DofE programme.

Upper Sixth student James, who achieved his Gold DofE award, commented: “The outdoor pursuits team helped me to fullfill all of my sections on time, as well as fully preparing me for the Slovenian expedition by giving up their weekends to take us out on practice walks. I would recommend the Gold DofE award because it helps to develop skills such as independence, leadership, teamwork and determination.”

Biology Challenge In March, the 3rd and 4th Year pupils sat a Biology Challenge, a worldwide competition consisting of two 25-minute papers set by the Royal Society of Biology.

The questions were based on the school curriculum, but the competition also rewards those students whose knowledge of the subject has been increased by reading books and magazines, watching natural history

programmes and taking notice of the news media for items of biological interest, and who are generally aware of our natural flora and fauna.

Our pupils did exceptionally well, with a special mention to Soumya, Sam and Oliver for achieving an incredible Gold Award.

and the Bronze Awards were received

by Alex, Ollie, Adam, George, Joanna, Lara, Sam, Freddy, Mckayla, Rudy, Roland, Rose, Hamish, Oliver, Heidi, Hannah, Elspeth, Thomas, Amari, Jay and Tom. Furthermore, our pupils received 82 Highly Commended and Commended results.

Thomas, Max, Emily, Robert, Maya, Hari, Jack, Leyla, Anna, Ashley, Christopher, Ben, Aimee, Henry, Kaja and Morgan achieved a Silver Award

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Cooking for the vulnerable

Boarders’ Charity Challenges

Jenna put everything she learnt from Mrs Taylor and AJ in the Leiths Cookery course to good use during the lockdown, helping to feed the vulnerable in Cornwall during difficult times.

Mrs Mulready and Mr Copeland challenged our boarding community to complete 75 challenges in the hope that the challenges would bring a sense of togetherness and distraction, whilst also raising money for a good cause.

From running and baking to letters of kindness and positive thoughts, the boarding community raised £820 for the NHS.

She told us the story of how she’s been helping: “I knew that food banks and services for vulnerable people in Cornwall were really struggling for contributions during the crisis. I contacted all the local supermarkets to ask for donations of food waste to make nutritious home-cooked food. Waitrose Truro were kind enough to donate a car boot full of food that I turned into 60 portions of minestrone soup, 150 blueberry muffins, 150 Raspberry muffins, 25 portions of meatballs, red pepper sauce and colcannon mash, 50 portions of fresh tomato soup, 25 portions of pea and watercress soup and 50 portions of apple and rhubarb crumbles... We are now cooking and delivering over 300 meals a week.” What an incredible effort!

Later in the term the boarders took part in the virtual Rainbow Run, raising money for Children’s Hospice South West. Participants walked, jogged, ran or even cartwheeled their way through 5km. The community raised an additional £724.

An amazing amount of money for two truly worthwhile causes.

1st Year charity efforts 1H were busy since the start of May half term working on charity events.

Many pupils decided to collect for the Foodbank in their local communities and planned a sponsored run/cycle/ walk and were very active collecting sponsors.

Evie becomes a published writer 2nd Year Evie received the fantastic news that her short story was chosen for publication in a book showcasing young adults’ work. The book, called SOS Sagas – Missing – Tales from the UK, features mini sagas (just 100 words long) on the theme of ‘missing’.

Packed full of tension and suspense, Evie’s mini-saga was selected from over 6,000 entries nationwide.

Taking to the stage Upper Sixth students Cat and Lowenna celebrated after both successfully earning places at Guildford School of Acting.

Ben Oldfield, Director of Drama, said: “It’s wonderful that these two talented students have achieved such a remarkable feat. Drama schools are notoriously hard to get into and they very rarely consider school leavers. Cat and Lowenna obviously impressed them with their skill and their passion for the art form.”

Cat commented: “I am so thankful for the opportunities that Truro School has offered me and I cannot wait to see where these experiences take me next.”

Lowenna said: “I’ve had countless brilliant opportunities during my time at Truro School to allow my passion and craft to flourish, for which I am incredibly grateful.”

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60k challenge 2nd Years George, Finn and Stan took on a challenge to run a combined 60k in six hours, over two days, for charity.

Not only did they complete it, but they also smashed their target and completed the distance with a combined time of 5 hours 6 minutes, raising £600 so far for National Emergencies Trust.

2nd Year PPE volunteer 2nd Year pupil Kayleigh volunteered with Cornwall Cloth Masks to help supply the local community with PPE cloth masks.

A keen sewer since the age of 8, Kayleigh made two varieties, persevering through the comprehension of required designs by the community (both of which allow filters to be fitted inside), learning through making mistakes and implementing strategies to achieve an effective production line.

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Partial return of pupils

Virtual Sports Day

Towards the end of the summer term the school was pleased to welcome back partial groups of 4th Years and Lower Sixths, but remote education remained the predominant mode of learning.

Virtual Sports Day this year took a rather different format as pupils were set not just sport challenges but cooking, writing, acting, singing; you name it, it was done. In a bid to win those all-important house points, the participants sent in their evidence of their challenge, which was totalled on a spread sheet throughout the day. There were over 1700 entries!

The face-to-face support focused on the wellbeing of pupils and looking into their individual journeys for the future, with the opportunity to build on the work from the Inspiring Futures Programme, pastoral check-in, spending some time on core subjects, and an academic review.

In their one-to-one wellbeing chats, 4th Year pupils said they were ‘excited to see their friends’ and ‘real school is better than online school’ as they ‘like working with others and having the support of a real teacher in the room’. Many said they were ‘not worried about their GCSEs as they know they have been taught well this term’ and that the positives of being at home were having time with their families and time to enjoy the outdoors such as running, cycling, surfing and even making dens.

Lower Sixth students had the opportunity to take part in their Post-18 Options Day and attend relevant subject Clinics, a one-to-one academic review with their tutor and a welfare meeting with a member of the safeguarding team.

WAA Photography As part of the remote WAA programme, Mr Picton ran a photography group. Studying composition, geometric shapes, depth of field, ‘Life in Lockdown’, black and white and action props, the group produced some wonderful work.

World AIMS This year’s World Action in Methodist Schools (AIMS) day explored the themes of race, privilege and discrimination, reflecting on what it means to be able to ‘breathe’. It also explored how, as a community, we can be anti-racist and anti-discriminatory.

The World AIMS programme was started by two Old Truronians, Rev Dr Richard Jones CO44 and Graham Russell CO67, about 18 years ago, to get schools to look beyond themselves to the needs of the local and wider community. We continue to aim to recognise the various challenges facing our community and the wider world, and also to celebrate all that is good.

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Effort and Attainment Prizes

Exceptional Leiths Certificate results

Speech Day

Just 18 months after its launch, the inaugural cohort of students to undertake the prestigious Leiths Certificate in Food and Wine at Truro School celebrated their exceptional results.

The Headmaster and Governors were joined by guest speaker Ros Atkins (CO93) for this year’s Virtual Speech Day.

Truro School is one of only 22 schools in the country to offer the prestigious Leiths Certificate in Food and Wine, under the Leiths Academy scheme.

This year’s results included seven Distinctions, five Merits and a Pass. Zoe Meads particularly impressed the examiners with her culinary abilities and scored an amazing 90.99%, receiving a special Leiths Book Prize.

One of this year’s cohort, Connie Hatcher, is already discussing some exciting opportunities with Leiths, as personal professional chefs are now in high demand.

High achievers are able to apply to Leiths School of Food and Wine for a place to go on to study their prestigious full diploma in London. We are particularly proud this year as one of our first cohort, Davey Ellison, not only achieved a Distinction but has been accepted to go to Leiths next year to begin his journey towards becoming a recognised Professional Chef. We look forward to following his career towards becoming a ‘new name in food’.

Ros presents the BBC’s innovative TV news programme Outside Source.

Prior to this he was an award-winning news anchor of BBC World Service radio.

Ros has hosted coverage of many major stories around the world for BBC News, including Brexit, numerous international summits, the Greek debt crisis, the death of Nelson Mandela, Barack Obama’s first election victory and inauguration, the football World Cups in Germany and South Africa, the Charles Taylor verdict, London’s 2012 Olympic Games and Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

Live Interviews with Frontline Healthcare Professionals The first in a series of live interviews kicked off with frontline healthcare professionals about the impact that Covid-19 has had on their daily work, their careers, and the NHS. There was an opportunity for 3rd Years and above to gain a better understanding of various healthcare professions, and how the multi-disciplinary team pulls together in the global health crisis.

Dr Callum Waldie, former Truro School pupil, now junior doctor at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, shared details of his training and career to date. It was fascinating and inspiring to hear of the commitment he has to his vocation and of the role he is played to help those suffering from Covid-19.

Upper Sixth Student Zoe, who is intending to apply for medical school entry in September 2021, commented, ‘An inspiring talk on the realities of being a junior doctor. Thanks very much’.

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Effort 1H 1J 1K 1L 1M

Hattie B Roberts P Jessica B Iris T Archie R

Attainment 1H Eleanor M 1J Parnika I 1K Tilly D 1L Harry E 1M Celia G

Effort 2H 2J 2K 2L 2M

Elia T Rebecca C Jonathan T Elowyn P Tristan K

Attainment 2H Sammy S 2J Jemima J 2K Alice H 2L Libby R 2M Tilly H

Effort 3G Emily B 3H Sammy O-H 3J Aimée B 3K Elsepth P 3L Thomas P 3M Florence M Attainment 3G Jess Q 3H Isha P 3J Anna E 3K Lara O 3L Sam H 3M Ben A

Subject Prizes Subjects 4th Year 5th Year Art

Emily T Grace K Biology

Max S Ben T Chemistry Kobe K Edward A Computer Science George H Lulu C Design & Technology Gregor D-R Ollie N Drama Chloe L Poppy A English

Thomas S Millie D French

Soumya S Sara Y Geography

Harry D Robbie H Geology Tegan B Ben B German

Heidi M Jenna H History

Soumya S Kit G-B Maths

Freddy H Thurston B Music

Oliver J Izzie L Physical Education Oliver B Isaac M Physics

Joanna V Anna G Religious Studies Reuben M Sophie W Spanish

Joseph T Lara W

School Prizes Fanshawe Boarding Cup Anthony W & Tulip L Outstanding Service to School Sport Mollie B Outstanding Sporting Achievement 5th Year football team Sammy W, Sam W, Jude M, Cameron H (Capt), Charlie B (ViceCapt), Indigo H, Eli E, Harry P, Joe M, Eagan F, Teddy H, John W, Ben E, Memet A, Gabriel B, Lenny H, Jacob L KS3 PE and Sport Award Sam H KS4 PE and Sport Award Jude M Senior Choir Henry Doughty Music Cup Katherine G Junior Choir Elsie M Junior Choir Ted B, Finlay L, Pax M, Arthur T Wind Band: Ken Pelmear Music Cup Henry T Junior Band Ben A Symphony Orchestra Harry F Junior Orchestra Matthew J Jazz Orchestra Lowenna W Jacobs Prize for Accompaniment James L Creed Cup for Drama Lowenna W

Senior Speech Day Prizes The Opie Shield 1st: Smith 164.5 points 2nd: School 142 points 3rd: Wickett 141.5 points 4th: Vinter 120 points

Subjects Lower Sixth Upper Sixth Art Marie W Clemmy S Biology

Zoe M James B Business Studies

Amy L-T Alex M Cookery (Leiths) n/a Davey E Chemistry Henry H Lottie M Computer Science Lorenzo T Ries C Product Design

Tom F Sean H Economics Jessica F Elliot M English

Jenna K Ella W EPQ n/a Sean H French

Kalyan B Georgia S Geography Sophia B Ollie E Geology James C Daisy B-H German

Ondra F Maisy V History

Tallula L Georgia S Maths

Thomas L Harris M Music

Romano B-C Helena P Physical Education Harri R Jack H Physics

Benjy M Harris M Psychology Helena G Lily H Religious Studies Lucy M Clemmy S Spanish n/a Henry S Theatre Studies

Stephanie B Harrison F

Burrell Prize for Drama Charlotte B Jubilee Cup for Excellence In Design Jason A Art Prize Darcie C Pritchard Trophy for Sustained Leadership in Outdoor Education (DofE)

Ethan K-H Jeffries-Jones Shield for Perseverance in Outdoor Education (Ten Tors) Jenna H Hatchers Prize for Outdoor Education Max S Boggia Charity Cup Henry H Rowe Award for Community Service (1st-5th Year) Kate W Nicholls Prize for Service to the School

Maisy V C.L. Bryant Prize for Best Sixth Form Scientist Zoe B Willday/Delange Prize for Humanities Clemmy S Cyril Wilkes Memorial Prize for Modern Languages Henry T Tromans Shield for Outstanding Achievement Eddie P Lord Myners of Truro Leadership Award James B Day Lewis Prize for Initiative and Enterprise Jenna D Lord Myners Leadership Award Georgia S Headmaster Cup for outstanding school work Dan H Esse Quam Videri Shield Alex M

Lockdown Prizes - Stan W, Finn L and George N for fundraising – they ran 60km between them in under six hours raising £690 for charity.

- Benji M for his Perimeter of Cornwall cycle, run and walk to fundraise for the Association of NHS Charities.

- Adam N, Cosmo P, Louis N and Sean H for their contribution to manufacturing various PPE-related products for key workers.

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Art PREP Lockdown creations During the summer term, creativity took inspiration from the pupils’ immediate surroundings such as outside in gardens, at the beach, on walks, or in urban environments. Year 4 pupils created their own ‘land art’ using materials around them and Year 5 drew pictures from the perspective of ‘through the window’.

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Art SENIOR

2nd Year

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DT PREP

DT SENIOR

Future Designs Words by Mr Baker

We were very fortunate to be extended a visit to the ‘Future Design HQ’ for Jaguar Landrover in Gaydon.

Pupils were treated to a once-in-a -lifetime experience and were able to see all elements of the design process of this iconic brand, as well as spend precious time with Adam Hatton, the Head of Exterior Design. Following this we headed to the ‘Mini’ production line in Oxford, and then onto Bath for the evening. The following day we were also treated to a fantastic tour of the Herman Miller headquarters, where pupils were able to experience all elements from design through to manufacture.

A wonderfully productive year 19-20 has seen a number of changes in Design and Technology. With Mr WestLetford retiring last year, the department’s new technician, Mr King, has slotted in seamlessly, and he has made really positive impacts in many areas. His background in ‘silver-smithing’ and, more recently, as a Head of Department has inspired many pupils already, and we are delighted that he is with us.

Also new is Mr Shardlow, who joined us in October. Also a previous Head of Department, he brings a wealth of experience in a number of areas, and we are delighted to welcome him aboard also.

Despite a frustrating end to the year, with lockdown preventing us from completing much of the GCSE and A Level manufacturing, it has been another wonderfully productive year. Manufacturing continues to be the heartbeat of the subject, but setting the rhythm perhaps is a renewed focus on designing, specifically in the use of Solidworks. This software increasingly enables pupils to look deeper into their designs, and to effectively develop them before committing them to production. 3D Printing has become fully embedded, and all pupils from 4th year and above are actively using this process to prototype their ideas. Our new Sigmax ‘Dual Extrusion’ machine will drive this interest even further.

The department can now boast two full computer suites, and the wood prep room has been modified with top-of-the-line machinery. We also look forward to a new roof in September!

Lockdown has presented as many opportunities as it has challenges. Pupils across all years have shown some fantastic resourcefulness. Enthusiasm for Sketchbook, an open-source digital design software which assists sketching in many intuitive ways, gives pupils a more professional approach to designing and will help to drive overall graphical communication.

I wish to thank Richard Stevens in particular for sharing his contacts, time and energy, and also Adam Hatton for granting us access to one of the UK’s most prestigious and secretive design centres. The pupils were amazed by all they saw.

Special Mentions A number of pupils deserve acknowledgement this year. Cosmo, Louis, Adam and Sean all contributed to the effort behind 3D printing PPE for key workers. The department staff also contributed by making over 400 full face masks for the community.

Oliver won the 5th Year prize for his beautiful bathroom mirror/planter project and Jason won the ‘Jubilee Cup for excellence in Design’ for his stylish chair.

A special mention must go to Sean Heaney. From his very first year at Truro School he has challenged himself to improve and to complete projects far beyond his age. His appetite for learning new skills has resulted in breath-taking products and awe-inspiring productivity. His grasp of digital processes, combined with an understanding for both aesthetic and physical material characteristics has opened up new doors of possibility to all pupils. Well done Sean.

We wish all our leavers the best of luck.

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1st - 3rd Year DT

1st Year computer aided design vinyl

2nd Year mixed wood jewellery boxes

1st Year pewter class

2nd Year bridge testing

1st Year sailing boats

1st Year sailing boats

3rd Year chess table by Alisha

3rd Year bridge testing

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3rd Year laser cut box

1st Year sailing boats

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5th Year DT

Children’s play structure by Ben

Leg rest by Chris

Sunroom chair by Elliot

Barrelled ash bathroom mirror and planter by Oliver

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Examples of 1st-3rd Year ‘lockdown’ work

Oak tripod floor lamp by Thomas

Oak coffee table by Katie

Skateboard ramp by Joe

Dining table lamp by Anna

Food bank stand by Charlie

Golf shoe scraper and notice board by Finlay

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Surfboard carrier device by Tom

Bike stabiliser designs by Joe

Lower Sixth DT

Upper Sixth DT

Cat scratcher by Guy

by Sean

Concept design and CAD models by Connie

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Upper Sixth DT

Mixing bowl attachment

by Davey

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Boarding BOYS

Boarders’ Bake-off competition with his amazing cake! This was the first time that Trennick won, so well done Finley!

The term ended with the hugely enjoyable Boarders’ Christmas Dinner and Party. This year the Headmaster and his family attended; he reported that it was a fantastic evening with a tremendous positive community spirit from the boarders. Between the amazing meal and the evening dancing there were many good and funny speeches. The loudest applause went to Obum Ijere, the third Trennick prefect, who did his rapping roll-call.

Obum made a flamboyant prefect who never failed to bring smiles and happiness to evening roll-calls.

Words by Mr Copeland The year started with a fantastic weekend-long induction program for the new boarders. The younger boys were welcomed to Poltisco by Mr. Peter Thomson, the popular experienced tutor, and Mr. Nick Pilborough, the new Resident Tutor. The older boys arrived into Trennick and were greeted by Mr. Tom Hatfield, who joined from the PE department as another new Resident Tutor. The weekend was spent making new friends, enjoying the facilities in the boarding houses, touring the school, visiting the small city of Truro and experiencing a water-sports trip to a nearby beach. By the end of the weekend all the new boarders – old and young, boys and girls – had made such good friends and made such a positive impression that the year ahead promised to be a good one.

Anthony Wong was the Head of House

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for the year. His calm leadership was evident from the very start, and his passion for boarding helped integrate the new arrivals with the returning boarders. His detailed knowledge and experience of boarding combined well with his determination and passion to improve the boarding environment.

This was most often seen when he chaired the House Council, and when he promoted a strong community ethos with the boarders from the other houses. Vladimir Riazantsev was another valuable member of the House Council, as he provided an excellent role model for the younger boys, especially with his skilful negotiating when presenting some of his great new ideas.

escape rooms, eating good food at the Falmouth Oyster Festival, and the annual end-of-term trip to the Eden Project for ice-skating. It was also great to see so many boys compete in the school basketball team which was captained by one of Trennick’s prefects, Ries Cheung. Ries worked hard with his academic studies all year, but also made time to lead the basketball squad during training and in games with hard-fought victories over local rivals. In the basketball team was also Bosco Yeung who has been a boarder at Truro School for four years.

Bosco is a popular and well-respected member of the Upper Sixth who will always be remembered for his hole-inone in the boarders’ golf competition.

There were many highlights of the autumn term, which included surf lessons at Perranporth beach, cooking and dining in the cookery school, working together under pressure in

Fellow Upper Sixth Finley Morel performed extremely well in the school play as one of the main characters, but perhaps his creative talent was most appreciated when he won the

The end of the spring term was possibly the most difficult time ever for

the boarders, but the boys’ response was inspiring. They rose extremely well to the challenge of responding to rapidly changing conditions and the need to plan journeys home under difficult circumstances. The support they gave each other was amazing and it truly was a privilege to work with boys who showed such resilience and calmness. It was great to hear from so many families as the boys arrived home safely, and it was heart-warming too to keep in touch during the lockdown period.

The boys continued to inspire during the summer term of remote learning.

The dedication that some of them showed to their education was immense, despite some challenges around different time-zones and distractions from younger siblings!

The boarders still managed to come

together during the summer term by contributing to two charity events.

The first was the Challenge 75, which aimed to celebrate the 75 boarders and raise money for the NHS Covid-19 response fund. An incredible £820 was raised! The second event was the annual Rainbow Run, the boys were encouraged to walk, jog or run 5km in bright colours to raise money for the Children’s Hospice South West. 5km was completed many times all around the world raising an amazing £600.

This year will be remembered for many reasons, but perhaps the strongest memory will be of the amazing spirit of the boarding community.

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Boarding GIRLS Words by Mrs Mulready

It was all change, staffing-wise, in girls boarding over the summer holiday with new resident tutors and their families moving in to both girls houses.

Mrs Howe, her husband Neil and two children, both Truro School pupils, Ellie and Owen, and Ms Fiol, along with her daughter Georgie (university student), moved in to the two resident flats in Pentreve whilst I was joined by Miss Birkett, the new PE graduate, and Mrs Wood, HR Assistant, in Malvern.

The usual preparations of room sorting and induction planning happened over the last week in August and we excitedly opened our doors to welcome girls from the UK, Hong Kong, Austria, Germany, France, Thailand, China and the United States of America. With a thorough induction programme planned, the girls wasted no time in getting to know each other, the school, and the wider Truro area, participating in familiarisation activities, water sports, a cookery

session, evening BBQs and Mario Kart tournaments.

The weekend activity programme has been as busy as ever this year.

Water-based activities such as surfing, kayaking, paddle-boarding and general beach trips have been complemented by BMX biking, screen printing, afternoon tea in a hotel, pot painting, a Christmas theatre trip and shopping, to name a few. This year we have again benefitted from the on-site Cookery School, with all the boarders enjoying some cook-and-dine sessions including three-course Mexican, Thai and Italian feast menus, which were devoured. We have introduced money management, mental health awareness and team building to the weekend activity programme, with one of my highlights seeing Mrs Howe and I tentatively sipping Frank and David’s curdling and splitting ‘healthy and nutritious’ coconut smoothie in the Sixth Form Café, Great British Bake-Off judging style!

Raising money for charity and being

community-minded has again been a boarding focus this year. The annual Boarders Bake-Off for Macmillan Cancer Research, in the first half term of the year, was a resounding success for the fourth year running and the community came together to raise money on a number of other occasions too. Mr Thompson organised a weekend trip to Tregolls Care Home which saw the boarders chatting easily to the elderly residents. Other particular highlights include Challenge 75 and this year’s virtual Rainbow Run, both of which, despite taking place during lockdown and with the school closed, raised an incredible £820 and £603 for the NHS and Children’s Hospice Southwest respectively, whilst also bringing a sense of togetherness and distraction.

The talent in the houses has exuded from the walls once again and we have supported the choristers, musicians, artists and budding actors at school plays, concerts and award ceremonies.

The girls have been involved in much sporting success on the hockey field,

netball and basketball court and our international fencer, Leanne, has continued to make her mark at competitions all over the world! The Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme has been embarked upon, Holly was announced an anti-bullying ambassador and many of the senior girls became ACHE student councillors.

We have celebrated numerous birthdays, St Nikolous Day, Christmas, and Easter, with many a cake being eaten before breakfast and shoes mysteriously filled with chocolates appearing outside bedroom doors in early December…

The end of the spring term was an experience to behold as the world responded to the COVID-19 threat.

The girls amazed me in their response; quickly negotiating early flights home, remaining positive amongst the uncertainty, picking each other up, and looking for the silver lining in such unfamiliar and scary times.

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The summer term flew by in a format like no other, with the boarders quickly adapting to remote learning. Their interactions with me on the house teams have been lovely and have made a very quiet and unfamiliar boarding house feel a little less lonely, and I was impressed by comments from teachers regarding the girls’ subject engagement. For some, conflicting time frames and learning remotely in a second language cannot have been easy; their resilience, perseverance and dedication to their educational journey has been clear from day one and I am so proud of them all. With exams cancelled, the 5th Year and Upper Sixth students have made the most of the Pre-A Level and PreUniversity enrichment offerings and will find themselves even better prepared for their next step, whatever that might be.

Sixth Leavers and those that are not returning to us next year. For Tulip, Leanne, Winkie, Codi, Meg, Lowenna, Helena and Tung, who did not get the usual send-off they deserved: I hope they are able to come together and mark their time at Truro School in some formal way in the future. I wish them the very best in the next stage of their adventures and I cannot wait to hear of their successes. Sadly, we say goodbye to Louise, Holly, Helena and Marie too. We will really miss them all and I hope they will pop back for a coffee and a chat if they are back in Truro at any point!

Mrs Sarah Mulready (Housemistress for Girls’ Boarding)

Finally, all that remains for me to do is to say goodbye to the Malvern Upper

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Sport PREP Hockey Year 5 and Year 6 Year 6 teams made considerable progress with their technical skills and game awareness this season. Their individual and team performances have really improved, as players have started to better understand their playing positions.

Our stand-out defender on the pitch was Florence, who showed natural speed and determination. Ella, Zara and Beth showed promising attacking skills, successfully passing the ball between them to score goals. On several occasions we have put out three teams from this year group in order to provide competitive opportunities for all children.

Highlights for our top players have included tournaments in Somerset, Dorset and Cornwall. Our two girls’ teams competed with determination in their county tournament, finishing in 3rd and 6th places, and proving that they have great potential at this level in future years.

Qualifying for South West regional hockey tournament There was a great turn-out at the boys’ county tournament, with eight teams attending. Our two boys’ teams played consistently well, finishing in 2nd and 7th places. Our strongest team qualified to represent Cornwall in the regional hockey tournament in April 2020 at Clifton College.

Year 5 teams are bursting with potential. They are packed with committed hockey players, who regularly attend after-school hockey

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training and several of whom have started playing for local club teams.

Year 3 and Year 4 hockey Our Year 4 teams enjoyed several five-a-side fixtures with Truro High and Polwhele House Schools, as well as attending the Plymouth College hockey tournament.

It is brilliant that several players in this age group, such as Millie, Rosie and Sanna, are also already playing for local club hockey teams.

Our Year 3 teams experienced their first ever hockey match, which included playing on an astro pitch for the first time. Winnie summed it all up perfectly: ‘Time flies when you’re having fun’.

Rugby This season, any Year 5 or 6 pupil who has wanted to be involved in competitive fixtures has represented the school. Consequently, our fixture list has grown, attendance at clubs has been high and more girls have participated in fixtures, which has been a pleasure to see.

Year 5 and Year 6 Year 6 kicked off the season by travelling to Plymouth for their annual festival where our 20 children played with sheer determination and courage.

Other fixtures included a highly competitive and entertaining match against Polwhele House, in which both teams scored many tries. We also hosted Claire’s Court (a touring side)

as usual, another tough fixture but our players rose to the challenge as expected.

Possibly the toughest test of the season was Millfield’s U11 Festival.

The day was a fantastic learning opportunity for those involved and a chance to experience the standard of rugby played at other schools in the country. Each player should be very proud of the way they represented the school.

The annual U10 and U11 festival was attended by various schools from Devon and Cornwall. Most children in Year 5 and 6 chose to represent the school in an afternoon of actionpacked rugby, which was refereed by older children from Truro School.

Our Year 5 teams took on teams from Polwhele House, Mount Kelly, Plymouth College and Fulham Prep (touring side), in games that were hard fought, well spirited and fun to watch. The standard of rugby played was high, with all teams showing some fantastic running rugby.

Year 3 and Year 4 Year 4 competed in festivals at Plymouth College and Mount Kelly; the two teams involved grew in confidence throughout these festivals, producing some great matches along the way.

Year 3 faced Polwhele House in what was a fantastic afternoon of TAG rugby, with all players developing their understanding of the game.

Written by Sally Luxton and Josh Lord

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Cross country This season, cross country club has been an extremely popular afterschool club, with training sessions twice a week and the optional weekly run-a-mile club. Every child attending training has represented the school for cross country this year.

Year 5 and Year 6 In early December 2019, our Year 5 and Year 6 team raced at Polwhele House, competing against runners from Truro High School and Polwhele House School. This was a strong team performance, with some exceptional individual results. All of our runners finished in the top fifteen places in their race.

Year 3 and Year 4 In November 2019, Year 3 and Year 4 cross country team competed at

Netball This season, a huge number of boys and girls have attended training at netball club. We have regularly fielded several teams in each year group, in order to provide competitive opportunities for all children. In addition, several boys participated in the High 5 tournament at Penair School.

‘I just love playing netball.’

Beth, Year 6 ‘The after-school club is really fun.’

Maddox, Year 5 Year 5 and Year 6 Both Year 5 and Year 6 teams faced teams from Plymouth College, Polwhele House and Mount Kelly Schools. The overall standard of their

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performance has improved, allowing them to develop essential confidence in their attacking and defending skills.

Highlights of the season have included competing in the annual U11 Bryanston netball tournament. With 36 schools attending, the standard was extremely high, with no easy matches.

Another great learning experience was taking two mixed teams to the High 5 netball tournament at Penair, but narrowly missing out on qualification for the next round of the Cornwall School Games.

Their standout performance was winning the U11 invitational netball tournament at St. Joseph’s, Launceston.

Polwhele House School. Due to wet weather and high winds, the woods were out of action. The courses had therefore been modified to include the field space and garden areas. This was another cracking team performance, with some outstanding individual results. All of our Year 3 runners, and the majority of our Year 4 runners, finished in the top ten places in their race.

Cornwall School Games Qualifiers – Years 4, 5 and 6 In late January 2020 we attended the Truro area cross country event. This was a hugely enjoyable and successful afternoon, featuring promising and strong individual and team performances.

An incredible twenty children qualified for the next round, meaning that these runners finished in the top eight placings in their race.

We also won four out of six age groups: Sanna and James (Year 4), Lucy (Year 5) and Harriet (Year 6).

Winners: Best primary school Polwhele House cross country invitational event As usual, this brilliant cross-country event attracted children from a number of local primary and secondary schools.

Our entry of over 40 runners did exceptionally well in their races, with a number of children finishing in the top three in their races. Congratulations to James H (1st Y3/4 boy), Elliot (3rd Y3/4 boy), Sanna (3rd Year 3/4 girl) and Lucy (2nd Year 5/6 girl).

During the presentation we were also delighted to be awarded with the shield for ‘best primary school.’ This was worked out by totalling the best six scores for each school across all Year 3/4 and Year 5/6 races.

teams. This was a friendly afternoon of netball against schools that we had never previously played. Our team played consistently well, winning all their matches, and only conceding one goal all afternoon.

‘It felt great to play well together as a team.’ Farrah, Year 6 Year 3 and Year 4 Year 3 and Year 4 teams absolutely loved their matches with Stover, Plymouth College and Polwhele House School. They have developed their game understanding, as well as starting to show confidence in their decision-making on court.

During the afternoon our team played six matches of netball against the other

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National Cup Winners

Sport SENIOR Badminton

Cross Country

Badminton has continued to thrive this year and it has been fantastic to welcome over 100 pupils to training and practices. Credit must go to all the pupils who regularly attend, for making it a welcoming and fun environment to be in.

Cross county is thriving at Truro School and we have had over 35 pupils represent the school in the past year alone across all age groups. Our junior teams were crowned county champions and we have also had many runners progress to regional and national competitions. We were well placed to compete in more prestigious competitions but, sadly, this has had to be postponed for the time being. Truro School has a long and successful history in cross country and, with the current crop of talented pupils, it looks like this will continue for years to come.

Truro School made the regional finals in multiple age groups for boys and girls but, as of yet, have not had the chance to compete. With growing numbers and with the help of our two new teachers, Linda and Tina, badminton will continue to grow and prosper at Truro School. Thank you to all the pupils and staff for being so active and engaged with badminton this year.

Cricket Sadly, we only managed to have a few net sessions before the school closed due to the pandemic. Cricket has undergone a few changes in the last few years but, with fantastic facilities and new Head of Cricket Sean Hooper, cricket will continue to grow at Truro School. We have competed well across the age groups, winning two county titles in 2019, and our girls’ teams have also performed well, winning indoor tournaments and progressing to the national finals.

There is so much opportunity for cricket to improve and grow at Truro School and we are looking forward to welcoming more players in the coming year.

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Under 16 Football

Football What a year of football it turned out to be! Our Under 12s played with passion and enthusiasm that saw over 35 boys represent the school in a competitive fixture, and our Under 13s are showing real promise as they continue to bond as a squad. A quarter-final place against a strong Richard Lander School demonstrated what they are capable of despite the loss; they will undoubtedly be challenging for county honours in the forthcoming years. We also had five boys represent West Cornwall representative side and selected for the South West Independent representative squad.

The Under 14s showed glimpses of how good they could be; however, lack of player attendance at training certainly affected their performances on match day. I hope they are able to reflect on that aspect and come back next year with commitment to enable their undoubted talent to flourish. Five players represented the West Cornwall squad and two were selected for the Independent School’s national squad.

The Under 15s showed outstanding attitude in training and fixtures. They were willing to learn and produced some outstanding performances. A win against Bournemouth Collegiate School and a place in the quarter final of the county cup (before all football was stopped) had to be the highlights

of their season.

The Under 16s continued to develop as a squad, with 17 players forming a close bond and working tirelessly for the team. A county cup final defeat was followed by the team progressing through the Under 16 ISFA national cup rounds. A quarter-final win against Harrodian School (4-1) and a semifinal win at home against Claremont School (2-1) saw the squad progress to the National Final, to be played at St Georges Park. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, the decision was made to cancel the final and have joint winners. This will be little consolation to the players. However, they will be able to look back and know they are the first team sport to win a National Cup in Truro School history. Five boys also represented Cornwall.

The 1st XI epitomised what we are looking for from our players. They showed respect to their teammates and opposition, they were committed, they arrived on time and in correct attire on every occasion, and they played with a smile. Football is an avenue to develop so many life skills, and this group of players got it spot on.

With the introduction of a new football programme starting in September 2020, football has never been in a better place at Truro School.

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Fencing Truro School has had another year of extraordinary successes in the fencing halls of the UK and around Europe. The partnership with Truro Fencing Club continues to flourish, with the club’s elite High Performance Programme providing the bulk of training for our top-level fencers, as well as attracting high-quality athletes from around the UK and further afield to come to the school. Competition highlights included: - Max C and Lexie C were selected for the British team in the Under 17 European Championships, with Leanne C selected for Singapore in the Asian Championships.

- Truro School alumni Bertie H, Hannah O and Luke H were selected for the Under 20 British team.

- Lexie C won the British Under 17 Sabre Championships aged just 14, the youngest fencer to do so since Truro School’s Caitlin M in 2014!

- Darcy Holdsworth put on an astonishing performance to win the British Under 23 Championships aged just 16, defeating a number of team GB fencers along the way.

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- No less than eight Truro School sabre fencers represented GB on the European Under 17 circuit: Darcy H, Lexie C, Roman N, Max C, Henry M, Sam C, Amari L and Aimee W. Darcy, Max and Roman were also selected for GB in the first Under 20 World Cups of their careers in Budapest, Sosnowiec, Dormagen and Dourdan. Leanne Chan selected for Singapore to compete in Sochi, Budapest and Sosnowiec world cups.

- In younger age groups, Aimee W, Henry M, Sam H, Amari L, Eva C and others all won medals on the domestic youth circuit and the Truro School activities saw record levels of attendance.

Truro School has been dominant for some years now at the British Public Schools Championships in sabre and was poised once again to sweep the board at the 2020 event.

Unfortunately, this was cancelled at the last minute. We hope to be back at this competition later in the year, with our team ready to maintain the school’s status as the UK’s leading public school for sabre fencing. I would like to thank Mr Salfield and his fencing coaching team this year.

Hockey

Cornwall at the regionals.

It has been another very busy and successful term for Truro School hockey.

The Under 12s entered two teams into the county tournament, sadly this event had to be postponed but will be played later in the year.

The Under 18 boys attended the regional tournament at Millfield where they played a fantastic game, drawing three games and losing one.

The Under 16 mixed team were crowned county champions, playing some high-quality hockey – it was great to watch.

The Under 14s also won their county festival, winning on a round robin basis and were due to go on to represent Cornwall at the regional finals.

The Under 13s won both their county tournament and county festival and were also due to go on to represent

It has been great to see so many boys committed to training and matches throughout the season, putting on outstanding performances both individually and as a team. A number of players throughout the years are playing in local club, at county level, and also at the Regional Performance Centre, which is a huge success to them as individuals and us as a school.

The attitude, conduct and results from each individual and squad has made this season one of the most successful.

Overall another excellent term for hockey.

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Netball Netball continues to be a very popular sport for girls at Truro School and it has proved to be enjoyed by the boys this year too, having been introduced as a sport for all boys in the 1st to 3rd Year during their games lessons.

It has been another very successful netball year in which all of the teams were entered into their respective county tournaments/festivals, however the Under 13s and Under 15s did not get to play due to Covid-19.

The Under 14 and Under 12 teams set the bar high, both being crowned County Champions. The Under 14s went on to represent Cornwall at the regional finals held in Bournemouth.

It was a very closely contested competition, but it was not to be this year for the Under 14s.

The Under 13 and Under 14 squads played in the National Cup competition. They both had very tough first round opponents and were knocked out in the early stages.

The Under 13s also played in the prestigious Bryanston tournament, where they had a great day, played some super netball and were great ambassadors for Truro School.

The Under 12s are a team to watch. As already mentioned they were crowned County Champions and also had great statistics, scoring a massive 190 goals with just 47 against – superb for such a

young team. They only lost one match all season, to The Maynard School, Exeter, in a thrilling end-to-end game.

There is huge depth in the Under 12s, with the B squad also claiming a bronze medal in the Cornwall School Winter Games. The Under 13 B squad dominated the Cornwall School Winter Games finals and were crowned Champions.

The Under 18/1st Team were an absolute joy this year, always giving 100% in both training and matches, displaying an excellent example to our younger years. A big thank you to captain Molly B, who also helped coach and umpire some of our younger players in the SSP league, ably assisted by vice-captain Zoe M in a similar role.

It has been a fantastic rugby season for all teams at Truro School. A huge emphasis on maximum effort and positive attitude from both the coaches and players has resulted in some exceptional performances and improvement across all year groups.

Congratulations to every player who attended practices and/or represented the school this year, you certainly did Truro School proud.

Many players have also attended satellite and county academies, with 5th Year Nancy R selected for Team Bath. Finally, a massive thank you to all the coaches who have once more helped Truro School to become one of the leading netball schools within the County and beyond - your help is hugely appreciated - and to the parents who have stood on the side lines and transported your children to training and matches.

Sailing Truro School sailors enjoyed a wonderful autumn term sailing out of St Mawes Sailing Club. Under the expert instruction of Head Coach Bob Hindmarsh the students developed a plethora of skills, including advanced knot work, towing a rib alongside, capsize rescues, man overboard recovery, spinnaker work and how to navigate a course.

The students have excelled in their various classes, from Toppers to Fevas.

Many have been selected for the Royal Yachting Association Youth Squad programmes, and have competed

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Rugby

successfully at international events in the summer of 2019, with venues including the Netherlands and Italy.

Unfortunately, the international competitions were cancelled for the 2020 summer season; however, the sailors were not deterred. Instead, they were proactively exercising and used the time to improve their knowledge of the Racing Rules of Sailing, meteorology and tactics.

In KS3, the pupils have done brilliantly.

The 1st Years went unbeaten in both A and B teams this season; they showed excellent commitment at training and were victorious at the Under 12 East Festival. The 2nd Years had a superb season and, although they will be disappointed at finishing 5th out 24 schools in the County Festival, they picked up great victories against Blundells, Exeter and Plymouth College. The 3rd Years played really well this season. As a squad, they played a competitive and competent game in the county cup, despite losing to the overall champions at the quarterfinal stage. They are in a fantastic position for going into the national cup next season and have a number of individuals with the potential for county honours.

rule saw us defeated. Eight of our players have represented Cornwall this season, with captain Barnaby selected for the Exeter Chiefs Academy.

The 5th Years have performed strongly this year, placing ‘runners up’ in the 10s competition after beating former champions Redruth in the group stages - special mentions go to Noa R, Ollie N and Jude M who all represented the 1st XV this season.

The 1st XV have been superb role models to all pupils this year, displaying the standards we expect from all pupils at Truro School. They have been competitive in all fixtures and some of the defensive displays were outstanding. Highlights include the Woodhouse Grove tour, their performance against Ivybridge and Eddie P getting selected for England Counties. The team were looking forward to the Rosslyn Park 7s after successfully beating Plymouth College, Exeter School and Plymouth Albion the week before. Sadly, the event had to be cancelled due to coronavirus.

At KS4, the improvement in the 4th Years was hugely evident and, after a disappointing county cup defeat, their run in the national cup plate saw them making it to the quarter finals. On their way there they won games against King’s Taunton, Penryn College and Clarendon Academy, before a gutwrenching 12-12 draw with John Fisher School in which the ‘away team’

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Squash The squash programme at Truro School continues to develop nicely, with over 80 pupils attending our after-school sessions on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. These activities last from 4 til 6pm and involve a fun mixture of playing experience, coaching and routines all designed to enhance racket ability, coordination, fitness and sporting mentality. The aim is to provide life skills to take into club, business and social environments in the future. The programme is allinclusive no matter what the level of the pupil and is for girls just as much as boys to enjoy!

At the top end we entered three boys’ teams in the National Schools Championships this year. Our Under 13 players finished 9th in England and our older two teams both qualified for the grand finals (top 8 or higher)

Surfing This year has seen surfing step up another level with the help of the well-known local surf school Global Boarders. We have had coaching of the highest level given to all our pupils and been able to offer places to 50 pupils every Wednesday afternoon. The level of surfing has greatly improved across all abilities, with the advanced students being able to go to any beach in Cornwall to find the best waves. With the video analysis and coaching from Chris (exEnglish Junior Surf Team Manager & Coach), the advanced pupils have gone from strength to strength in their confidence and skill levels. The intermediate to beginners all were in groups of ability and were pushed to improve. We visited Praa, Newquay, Gwithian and many more beaches on both coasts and, on some occasions,

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where we were seeded at no. 2 before the postponement of the event. For 2020/2021 we plan on entering a girls’ team as well.

We have two top 6 nationally ranked juniors on our squash programme and regularly interact with some of the top players and coaches at the school.

This season, Mohamed Elshorbagy (current world no. 1), Nick Matthew (3 times world champion) and Lee Drew (England juniors head coach) all came to us and put together masterclasses or our players.

Squash is a hugely dynamic, skillful and enjoyable sport which offers huge rewards in terms of new skills, athletic abilities and mental fortitude and we are steadily building towards becoming the top competitive school in the country.

had all 50 students in the water at one time. That was a sight to see.

Sadly, due to the conditions this year, the Cornwall Schools Surf Championships did not happen. We had a team that could have done very well, captained by Joe Ellery.

We were able to take 20 pupils out to the Algarve for a week’s surf camp in blistering sun and small but clean waves. The pupils were given the chance to surf beach and reef waves.

We did get one day for the advanced surfers where there were head-high clean waves at Barranco. They all got some wonderful waves, sun tans, beach fun, food and some great memories.

Overall a wonderful year, sadly missing out the summer term of warm water and amazing waves.

Swimming Thank you to all those who attended clubs and represented the school this year in swimming. We started the year by travelling to Millfield to compete in the regional ESSA event, with some strong results from Truro School.

Later in the year we hosted a local inter-school gala, with schools across Cornwall joining us. There was a vibrant atmosphere in the pool as many close races were swum. The highlight for both swimmers and spectators were the board races as, for some, balancing and steering proved tricky! Coming in fourth with 57 points, Camborne school made a valiant effort with a muchreduced team. Redruth came in third with 85 points. Second with a strong team of swimmers was Richard Lander,

accumulating 118 points, whilst in first place was Truro School with 129 points.

This year’s house galas were a great success, with closely fought races across all year groups. Beyond the fast swimming and new school records was an outstanding team spirit as pupils contended to gain as many points as possible for their houses.

1ST YEAR GALA Victor Ludorum Rory S, Harry E runner up Victrix Ludorum Daisy L, Tilly D runner up 2ND YEAR GALA Victor Ludorum Ben D, Henry H runner up Victrix Ludorum joint holders Jess H and Eva B.

3RD YEAR GALA This event was sadly cancelled due to coronavirus 4TH YEAR GALA Victor Ludorum Harry D, Oliver B runner up Victrix Ludorum Anya H, Olivia P runner up Spirit of Swimmer Award: Magnus B, Soumya S, Kate W, Louis F, Orli D, Reuben M and Cosmo P 5TH YEAR GALA Victor Ludorum Alex S, Ben E runner up Victrix Ludorum Izzie L, Ella W runner up

Tennis The school’s tennis programme continues its tradition of offering tennis all year round to its pupils, for both recreational and performance players, and having successful teams in school competitions.

The programme offers the school’s keenest and most aspiring players weekly academy sessions before and after school, sessions each week during the summer term for recreational players, competitive opportunities in Cornish and national school competitions and an annual trip to Portugal for beginner to performance players. Plus, pupils can access further coaching, an international tournament trip and US and UK university placements thanks to the school’s continued association with Newquay’s Heron Tennis Centre.

We try to encourage a love of tennis and a culture where the keenest players strive to be the best players they can be. We promote the school’s sporting ethos within sessions: leadership, empathy, responsibility, creativity, respect, resilience, team work and persistence. Plus, we try to help pupils understand the role tennis can play in pupils’ lives: staying physically and mentally healthy; for social skills and friendships; and competitive challenges.

The school continues to recruit many of Cornwall’s leading young tennis players with Harry Melville, Archie Mallet, Aimee Brown and Jess Brown being chosen to represent Cornwall in recent years.

In 2019, the U15 boys team were Cornish champions and, across all age groups and league and cup competitions in 2019, Truro School finished top (no competitions were held in 2020 due to Covid-19).

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Charity Committee The Truro School Charity Committee has had another successful year, raising nearly £10,000 (although obviously our fundraising efforts were rather curtailed in the last term).

Our Sixth Formers, Zoe, Henry and Dan have been a fantastic support this year, we really couldn’t do it without them. We have also been so impressed with the contributions from many other students who have written presentations, researched charities, created posters, voted on charities and presented in Chapel, with a special mention for Orla, Jess, Katie, Anna and Lara.

Our main charity events continue to be the half termly Charity Days, where students opt to wear home clothes for the day and donate £2 to our chosen charity. We spend time researching each of our proposed charities before voting during our break time meetings; hopefully this ensures that we choose organisations which really resonate with our school community.

The most successful form event so far was from 3G’s sponsored ‘Pull-Up Challenge’, raising an impressive £273, while 4J’s ‘Own-Shoes Day’ raised £215.

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This year we have supported charities such as All We Can for our Harvest Festival, Crisis UK and St Petroc’s to help the homeless, All Hands and Hearts (who support long term rebuilding of communities after disasters) and Age UK. We have also taken part in events such as ‘Postcards of kindness’ where students wrote postcards to elderly people to help combat loneliness, and Food Bank Collections.

The Senior and Junior Charity Concerts were outstanding this year.

These events are entirely student-led, so auditions, planning and marketing are dealt with by the pupils involved.

However, they couldn’t possibly deliver the events without Swen and his tech team and the Burrell Front of House team, who offer up so many hours of their time over weekends and after school to make the event happen. We are so lucky to have their help along with the massive support from the music school and Mr Palmer.

In the Autumn and Spring Term, different tutor groups take it in turns to run a charity event of their choice and this year we have had some hot chocolate sales, sporting challenges, hamper raffles, cake sales, sponsored events and an ‘own-shoes’ day.

Charities supported include Children’s Hospice SW the Australian Bushfires, CoolEarth, Sowenna, Cornwall Air Ambulance, Penhaligon’s Friends, the RNLI, and Cancer Research UK.

The Last Word The most successful form event so far was from 3G’s sponsored ‘PullUp Challenge’, raising an impressive £273, while 4J’s ‘Own-Shoes Day’ raised £215. We look forward to seeing what new ideas they come up with next year.

KIM CONCHIE, CHAIR OF GOVERNORS

As always, we would like to thank all the form tutors who take the time to organise these events. We are really appreciative of the time and effort that staff, parents and pupils have contributed to this fantastic total and look forward to supporting worthwhile causes in the coming school year.

We always welcome new faces to our meetings, so if you would like to get involved in anyway, please come along on a Thursday break time.

Nancy Kenward and Heather Alford (Charity Coordinators)

Most of the Truro School family goes through the year without dwelling on the Governors, so my only moment in the sun is Speech Day! And sadly that moment was denied me this year.

My own sense of loss of one of my favourite days of the year is as nothing of course compared with those who have been deprived of summer sports, outward bound and adventure activities, exams, leaving dos, the leavers’ service and a myriad of happy end-of-year events. You will forever be known as Generation Covid or Gen C.

But it will be a blip in your lives which have a long happy way to run, underpinned by the top-notch collaborative Cornish schooling that you are lucky enough to have. I wonder what changes in education, in life and in leisure will remain with us forever. I believe that, this sort of crisis can be a catalyst for a new order but that to hang on to the things we’ve enjoyed in lockdown and to consign the bits that haven’t worked to history, we need people with a plan to implement those improvements. We have all enjoyed less pollution and litter; we have commented on birdsong and had the time to enjoy nature in the brilliant place we live. Some of us have enjoyed the more contemplative experience of working from home; some of us however have missed our friends, and the chance to bounce ideas off teachers and classmates, to work together on World Aims, arts projects, team sport and parties.

What I have noticed in my seven years as Chair of Governors at Truro School is how each young person is treated as an individual at the same time as being part of a loving, Christian family looking out for each other. It would be great if we can extend the kindness, retain the awareness of our beautiful surroundings and care for our environment while going forward

enjoying each other’s company in more sociable ways.

The Truro School family is a wide and varied one. Inevitably there will be happiness and sadness walking side by side. As one Head hands over to another, a previous much-loved Head sadly passed away recently after an accident in his garden. We will all miss Guy Dodd and our thoughts remain with his family and many friends.

Meanwhile, another former Head, Paul Smith, has joined the Truro School Foundation.

Although I’m stepping down as Chair of Governors after seven happy and exciting years, I am also going to remain as a Foundation Trustee alongside one of my Vice-Chairs, Rob Cowie, whom we should all thank for his outstanding service as Chair of the Finance Committee and 27 years as a Governor. Thanks for everything, Rob, a magnificent stint. My other Vice-Chair Richard Thomas steps up to become Chair. I thank him for his diligence and wish him a warm welcome to the hot seat. Thanks Richard. That really is the Last Word from me!

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Highertown Truro Cornwall TR1 3QN

Truro School Senior and Sixth Trennick Lane Truro Cornwall TR1 1TH

FOR GENERAL ENQUIRIES: EMAIL:

prepenquiries@truroschool.com 272616

TELEPHONE: 01872

FOR GENERAL ENQUIRIES: EMAIL:

enquiries@truroschool.com 272763

TELEPHONE: 01872

Truro School is part of the Methodist Independent Schools Trust Registered Office: Methodist Church House, 25 Marylebone Road, London, NW1 5JR Charity Number: 1142794 Company Number: 7649422

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